There's a CAR-T resource that I came across in the last week or so. Many thanks to William, a frequent commenter, who helps run the CAR-T and Follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma blog, and whose wife was an early CAR-T patient.
It's a TED Talk by one of the researchers who pioneered the research that led to the development of CAR-T, Dr. Carl June. It's called "A 'Living Drug' That Could Change the Way We Treat Cancer." It was filmed last November.
(And let me say straight away that I really appreciate his saying "could change the way." There's so much hype around many treatments, including CAR-T, that I like that he's humble enough to say it could change things, but that doesn't mean it definitely will.)
Dr. June really tells a story about immunotherapy -- the idea that the body's immune system can be used to fight cancer. And, of course, that's what CAR-T does. The immune system is meant to fight invaders -- outsiders like bacteria and viruses that get into our bodies. But cancer isn't an invader -- cancer cells are part of us that don't know how to die, like normal cells.
So a treatment like CAR-T works by taking a patient's T cells (an immune cell that seeks out invaders) and changing it so it recognizes cancer cells as invaders.
Dr. June gives some history of how CAR-T was developed. It took a long time, like many great developments, with lots of tinkering and changing and making things better. Like the story of Dr. James Allison, it's an inspiring tale of persistence.
It's a great video, and one that should inspire all of us. There are some amazing people doing some amazing things to help us.
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5 comments:
Hi Bob
So just who is Dr. Carl June and why is what he says so important to CAR-T?
Penn Medicine’s Carl June, MD, Named One of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People in the World
April 20, 2018
Dr. Carl June
PHILADELPHIA – TIME named University of Pennsylvania cancer and HIV gene therapy pioneer Carl June, MD, to the 2018 TIME 100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list, now in its fifteenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals, and is honoring June for his pioneering work in developing CAR T therapy, which became the nation's first FDA-approved personalized cellular therapy for cancer in August 2017.
More on Dr. June at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_H._June
William
I wonder how expensive/feasible it would be if, after a patient has a cr after first line treatment or second to contain the cells and freeze them for future use?
Hello Warrior Woman
Since my wife got her CAR-T frozen as part of an NIH clinical trial, there was no cost to us to freeze her CAR-T cells. And her frozen cells worked great - we are expecting to get a CR during her early November CT and PET. Her clinical trial (NCT02659943) allowed for a maximum of three CAR-T infusions. I am not sure whether other CAR-T treatments allow for CAR-T multiple infusions.
William
Interesting. And I am hoping your wife gets all good news at her appointment. It just seems like an easy solution to a disease that comes back. It would especially be useful for those that get well after first treatment but fail before 2 years. I’m curious how many times had your wife been treated before she was part of this trial. Thank you
In 4 years she progressed after being treated with four regimens: R-CHOP, BR, Ibrutinib, and Idelalisib/rituximab.
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