B.C. to provide CAR T-cell therapy to leukemia, lymphoma patients
CTV
Up to 25 cancer patients in B.C. will soon have access to a form of immunotherapy officials described as a “miracle of modern science and medicine.”
Up to 25 cancer patients in B.C. will soon have access to a form of immunotherapy officials described as a “miracle of modern science and medicine.”
In a Sunday news conference Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix announce that 20 adults and five children with some forms or leukemia and lymphoma will be eligible to access chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in Vancouver – something that was previously only available through clinical trials or by travelling out of province.
The therapy, essentially, uses a patient’s own T-cells to identify and target cancer cells. It is used when chemotherapy and radiation have not been effective, officials explained.
A mother whose son was diagnosed with leukemia at two years old spoke at the news conference, saying a clinical trail was life-saving for her son.
Recruitment and referral began in January. The first treatment is scheduled for this month, officials said, funding this treatment will cost $14.3 million in the first year.
