CAR T CELL THERAPY

• Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a revolutionary form of immunotherapy used to treat certain types of cancer, primarily blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma. This innovative approach harnesses the power of a patient's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells
• CAR T-cell therapy has shown remarkable success in treating certain blood cancers, particularly in cases where other treatments have failed. However, it is not without potential side effects, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic toxicity, which can be severe in some cases
• Two well-known CAR T-cell therapies that have received approval from regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), used to treat certain types of leukemia and lymphoma. Research and development in this field are ongoing, with efforts to expand the application of CAR T-cell therapy to other types of cancers and improve its safety and effectiveness

• A patient's own T-cells (a type of immune cell) are collected from their blood through a process called leukapheresis
• The collected T-cells are then genetically engineered in a laboratory to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface. This CAR is designed to specifically recognize a particular protein or antigen found on the surface of cancer cells. This engineering process enables the T-cells to target cancer cells more effectively
• The expanded CAR T-cells are infused back into the patient's body through an intravenous (IV) infusion
• Once in the patient's body, these CAR T-cells seek out and bind to cancer cells that express the target antigen. This binding activates the T-cells, leading to the destruction of the cancer cells