Fresh Gene Therapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Those With No Options Left
Dimas Padilla thought he was dying for sure.
He’d been through the wringer with a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Very first, he attempted chemotherapy, and then, when the cancer came back a year and a half later, he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
But last year, when it came back again, he believed he was out of options.
“I was losing my battle against cancer,” Padilla, a 43-year-old sales representative, told NBC News.
- Embed
Then he found out about an experimental therapy that’s a step beyond bone marrow transplants.
Called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy — CAR-T for brief — it involves taking a samples of T-immune cells called T-cells from a patient, genetically engineering them, and putting them back in to fight the cancer.
“Your bod has many different soldiers within it that that could fight a ground war or a sea war or a land war,” said Dr. Frederick Locke, an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, who’s been testing the treatment.
“We’re taking all those soldiers out, providing each one of them a GPS and telling them … your target, what you’re supposed to go attack, is actually the lymphoma,” he added.
“We’re actually taking the cells out of the patient, redirecting them and putting them back in.”
It’s worked well in patients who had no other options after going through rounds of chemo and bone marrow transplants. More than one-third of patients who got the treatment — thirty nine percent — are tumor-free nine months later, researchers will tell a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that starts this weekend.
“These are patients who indeed are without hope,” Locke said.
“Patients who at best could expect to have a one in ten chance of having a finish disappearance of their lymphoma,” he added. “So the results are truly arousing and remarkable.”
More than eighty percent of the one hundred one patients who got the treatment were still alive six months later. “Only about half the patients who (went) on this examine could expect to even be alive six months after the therapy,” Locke said.
Padilla is one of them. When the cancer came back most recently time, his lymph knots were bulbous. “They were so bad that they moved my vocal straps to the side and I was without my voice for almost three months,” he said.
“Once they infused … the cells in my figure, within two to three days all my lymph knots commenced melting like ice cubes.”
“They kept growing and my face was erection, and I thought I was going to gasp while I was sleeping.”
Padilla was among the last patients enrolled in the trial.
“Once they infused … the cells in my figure, within two to three days all my lymph knots began melting like ice cubes,” he said.
The treatment is no cake walk. Just as with a bone marrow transplant, the patient’s immune system must be bruised so that the freshly engineered T-cells can do their work. That involves some harsh chemotherapy.
It’s so harsh that it killed three of the patients in the trial. Padilla says he still has some memory loss from his bout with the chemo.
“I had some fevers and I was wiggling and a little bit of memory loss but it was improvised,” he said. “I will say that it was pretty intense for like a week, but in my 2nd week, 2nd week and a half, I was embarking to feel more normal. I was able to begin walking and the wiggling was not as bad as it was in the beginning,” he said.
And when he got the news that his lymphoma was gone — at least for now — Padilla was delighted.
“I kissed my wifey. I very likely kissed the doctor,” he said.
The company developing the treatment, Kite Pharma, sought Food and Drug Administration approval for the therapy on Friday.
It carries the tongue-twisting name of axicabtagene ciloleucel, and it’s the very first commercial CAR-T product to get into the FDA approval process.
It’s far too early to say any of the patients were cured, Locke cautions. And such a difficult treatment course is indeed only for patients in the most desperate condition.
“The patients in this trial were indeed without options,” he said.
But Locke is sold on the treatment. “This is a revolution. It’s a revolution in cancer care. This is the peak of the iceberg,” he said.
Fresh Gene Therapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Those With No Options Left – NBC News
Fresh Gene Therapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Those With No Options Left
Dimas Padilla thought he was dying for sure.
He’d been through the wringer with a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Very first, he attempted chemotherapy, and then, when the cancer came back a year and a half later, he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
But last year, when it came back again, he believed he was out of options.
“I was losing my battle against cancer,” Padilla, a 43-year-old sales representative, told NBC News.
- Embed
Then he found out about an experimental therapy that’s a step beyond bone marrow transplants.
Called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy — CAR-T for brief — it involves taking a samples of T-immune cells called T-cells from a patient, genetically engineering them, and putting them back in to fight the cancer.
“Your bod has many different soldiers within it that that could fight a ground war or a sea war or a land war,” said Dr. Frederick Locke, an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, who’s been testing the treatment.
“We’re taking all those soldiers out, providing each one of them a GPS and telling them … your target, what you’re supposed to go attack, is actually the lymphoma,” he added.
“We’re actually taking the cells out of the patient, redirecting them and putting them back in.”
It’s worked well in patients who had no other options after going through rounds of chemo and bone marrow transplants. More than one-third of patients who got the treatment — thirty nine percent — are tumor-free nine months later, researchers will tell a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that starts this weekend.
“These are patients who indeed are without hope,” Locke said.
“Patients who at best could expect to have a one in ten chance of having a finish disappearance of their lymphoma,” he added. “So the results are truly arousing and remarkable.”
More than eighty percent of the one hundred one patients who got the treatment were still alive six months later. “Only about half the patients who (went) on this probe could expect to even be alive six months after the therapy,” Locke said.
Padilla is one of them. When the cancer came back most recently time, his lymph knots were bulbous. “They were so bad that they moved my vocal ropes to the side and I was without my voice for almost three months,” he said.
“Once they infused … the cells in my assets, within two to three days all my lymph knots commenced melting like ice cubes.”
“They kept growing and my face was erection, and I thought I was going to gasp while I was sleeping.”
Padilla was among the last patients enrolled in the trial.
“Once they infused … the cells in my assets, within two to three days all my lymph knots embarked melting like ice cubes,” he said.
The treatment is no cake walk. Just as with a bone marrow transplant, the patient’s immune system must be bruised so that the freshly engineered T-cells can do their work. That involves some harsh chemotherapy.
It’s so harsh that it killed three of the patients in the trial. Padilla says he still has some memory loss from his bout with the chemo.
“I had some fevers and I was wiggling and a little bit of memory loss but it was makeshift,” he said. “I will say that it was pretty intense for like a week, but in my 2nd week, 2nd week and a half, I was kicking off to feel more normal. I was able to commence walking and the wiggling was not as bad as it was in the beginning,” he said.
And when he got the news that his lymphoma was gone — at least for now — Padilla was delighted.
“I kissed my wifey. I most likely kissed the doctor,” he said.
The company developing the treatment, Kite Pharma, sought Food and Drug Administration approval for the therapy on Friday.
It carries the tongue-twisting name of axicabtagene ciloleucel, and it’s the very first commercial CAR-T product to get into the FDA approval process.
It’s far too early to say any of the patients were cured, Locke cautions. And such a difficult treatment course is truly only for patients in the most desperate condition.
“The patients in this trial were truly without options,” he said.
But Locke is sold on the treatment. “This is a revolution. It’s a revolution in cancer care. This is the peak of the iceberg,” he said.
Fresh Gene Therapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Those With No Options Left – NBC News
Fresh Gene Therapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Those With No Options Left
Dimas Padilla thought he was dying for sure.
He’d been through the wringer with a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Very first, he attempted chemotherapy, and then, when the cancer came back a year and a half later, he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
But last year, when it came back again, he believed he was out of options.
“I was losing my battle against cancer,” Padilla, a 43-year-old sales representative, told NBC News.
- Embed
Then he found out about an experimental therapy that’s a step beyond bone marrow transplants.
Called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy — CAR-T for brief — it involves taking a samples of T-immune cells called T-cells from a patient, genetically engineering them, and putting them back in to fight the cancer.
“Your assets has many different soldiers within it that that could fight a ground war or a sea war or a land war,” said Dr. Frederick Locke, an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, who’s been testing the treatment.
“We’re taking all those soldiers out, providing each one of them a GPS and telling them … your target, what you’re supposed to go attack, is actually the lymphoma,” he added.
“We’re actually taking the cells out of the patient, redirecting them and putting them back in.”
It’s worked well in patients who had no other options after going through rounds of chemo and bone marrow transplants. More than one-third of patients who got the treatment — thirty nine percent — are tumor-free nine months later, researchers will tell a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research that starts this weekend.
“These are patients who indeed are without hope,” Locke said.
“Patients who at best could expect to have a one in ten chance of having a accomplish disappearance of their lymphoma,” he added. “So the results are truly arousing and remarkable.”
More than eighty percent of the one hundred one patients who got the treatment were still alive six months later. “Only about half the patients who (went) on this explore could expect to even be alive six months after the therapy,” Locke said.
Padilla is one of them. When the cancer came back most recently time, his lymph knots were bulbous. “They were so bad that they moved my vocal ropes to the side and I was without my voice for almost three months,” he said.
“Once they infused … the cells in my bod, within two to three days all my lymph knots began melting like ice cubes.”
“They kept growing and my face was erection, and I thought I was going to gasp while I was sleeping.”
Padilla was among the last patients enrolled in the trial.
“Once they infused … the cells in my assets, within two to three days all my lymph knots began melting like ice cubes,” he said.
The treatment is no cake walk. Just as with a bone marrow transplant, the patient’s immune system must be bruised so that the freshly engineered T-cells can do their work. That involves some harsh chemotherapy.
It’s so harsh that it killed three of the patients in the trial. Padilla says he still has some memory loss from his bout with the chemo.
“I had some fevers and I was wiggling and a little bit of memory loss but it was improvised,” he said. “I will say that it was pretty intense for like a week, but in my 2nd week, 2nd week and a half, I was kicking off to feel more normal. I was able to embark walking and the wiggling was not as bad as it was in the beginning,” he said.
And when he got the news that his lymphoma was gone — at least for now — Padilla was delighted.
“I kissed my wifey. I very likely kissed the doctor,” he said.
The company developing the treatment, Kite Pharma, sought Food and Drug Administration approval for the therapy on Friday.
It carries the tongue-twisting name of axicabtagene ciloleucel, and it’s the very first commercial CAR-T product to get into the FDA approval process.
It’s far too early to say any of the patients were cured, Locke cautions. And such a difficult treatment course is truly only for patients in the most desperate condition.
“The patients in this trial were indeed without options,” he said.
But Locke is sold on the treatment. “This is a revolution. It’s a revolution in cancer care. This is the peak of the iceberg,” he said.
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