Car T-Cell Therapy, Highly Effective in Patients With High-Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Long ago, treating cancer was a real challenge for medical experts. But with the help of technology and researches, treatment and medication were made possible. However, even though cancers are treated, and some of the patients are announced as "cancer-free," relapse of the treatment happens, making cancer active again, affecting these patients' lives.

Some studies demonstrate some of the factors why cancer treatment is relapsing. Through time, medications for relapsing cancers are also being researched and tried on numerous models for better treatment. Now, investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute discovers an existing treatment that drove cancer cells to undetectable levels.

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Medical Xpress notes that researchers from the institute could find axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) as a highly effective treatment for patients with advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). According to the United States National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Cancer Institute, axi-cel is a CAR t-cell therapy that is used to treat certain types of large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that came back or did not have any improvement after undergoing medications with at least two types of anticancer therapy. Also called yescarta, National Cancer Institute added that this therapy helps the body's immune system kill cancer cells. 

Science Daily reported that the NHL tends to be a slow-growing disease. They noted that patients commonly relapse after standard treatment which the need for new therapies arises. The researchers emphasized in the release that the Axi-cel's efficacy to patients who already had their condition relapsed or resistant to other medication is encouraging. 

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In a statement published in Florida News-Times, Caron Jacobson, MD, MMSc from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said that she was very impressed with the response's magnitude and durability. She added that the treatment had an evident impact on the patients with high risk for these diseases and how good the safety profile is compared to the quick-growing lymphomas observed.

Results of the trial

According to Medical Xpress, axi-cel is made by collecting or gathering some of the patient's T-cells, which will undergo genetic modification to deploy a specialized receptor on their surface. They added that the receptor would allow the CAR T-cells (t cells after undergoing alteration) to latch or fasten themselves on cancer cells and destroy them. Science Daily furthers that in previous trials that include large B cell lymphoma patients, the said therapy significantly reduced the cancer cells below detectable levels, which according to the researchers, is the complete response in many patients. 

Researchers emphasized in Florida News-Times that 17.5 months after the treatment with axi-cels, 92% of the study participants had an objective response (which means a detectable reduction in cancer), and 76% had a complete response. Regarding the side effects of the treatment, the researchers note in Medical Xpress that almost all patients could experience side effects with a 3 or higher grade. This is another great news for cancer patients, especially for those who have the same disease as the one who became the study participants. 

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