Cancer patients affected by certain advanced leukemias and lymphomas will now have better access to Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) therapy closer to home as the treatment becomes available in the province. This partnership is between the Province and BC Cancer, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services, Vancouver General Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital.
Intake and patient assessment began in January 2024, and the first treatment started in March 2024. During initial implementation, 20 adults will be treated at Vancouver General Hospital, and an estimated five children/youth will be treated at BC Children’s Hospital per year.
CAR-T therapy is a form of immunotherapy that has become a life-saving cancer treatment option for refractory or relapsed large B-cell lymphoma in adult patients and acute B-cell lymphocytic leukaemia in pediatric and adult patients when primary cancer treatments have been unsuccessful.
CAR-T therapy begins with the collection of a patient’s white blood cells. The patient’s collected cells are genetically engineered to express a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR), which hard-wires them to recognize a protein in cancer cells. The CAR-T cells are infused back into the patient’s bloodstream. Once circulating in the bloodstream, the CAR-T cells can recognize and kill cancer cells throughout the patient’s body.
Previously, eligible patients living in B.C. were referred to out-of-province/country cancer clinics to undergo CAR-T therapy. Providing standard-of-care CAR-T therapy in this province will help increase access and ensure eligible patients can receive the care they need in B.C.
“By improving access to CAR T-cell therapy, we’re bringing this new life-saving treatment closer to home for patients with some advanced blood cancers who are no longer responding to conventional treatments,” said Dr. Kim Chi, executive vice-president and chief medical officer of BC Cancer. “This announcement and these new investments will help us expand and improve specialized treatments and diagnostics and make a meaningful difference in the lives of people with cancer and those who love them.”
In 2022, an expected 32,170 people were diagnosed with cancer, and more than 11,000 died because of it. The Province said it continues to deliver on more actions under B.C.’s 10-year Cancer Care Action Plan, announced in 2023, by improving access to cervical cancer screening, HPV vaccines, radiation therapy and specialized cancer care for people.
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