Pregnancy After CAR T Shows Early Promise

No autoimmune disease flares occurred across 14 pregnancies after CAR T-cell therapy, with 8 healthy babies born and 5 pregnancies ongoing.

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The report described 14 pregnancies in 13 patients who had received CAR T-cell therapy for autoimmune disease.
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No autoimmune disease flares occurred during pregnancy, and all but one patient remained drug-free or used only prophylactic hydroxychloroquine.
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Eight healthy babies had been born, five pregnancies were ongoing, and one pregnancy was electively terminated for reasons unrelated to autoimmune disease.
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Newborns had no detectable CAR T cells, and reported CD19-positive B-cell counts, immunoglobulin G levels, and early development were normal.
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The researchers called for pregnancy registries and further studies of fertility after lymphodepletion and CAR T-cell treatment.

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