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Innovative cancer therapy uses immune system to attack tumours
Imagine if you could re-engineer your immune system to target and attack cancer growing in your body. A new clinical trial led by a clinician researcher at the University of Alberta is doing just that.
Michael Chu, an assistant professor of oncology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is leading a project to manufacture and test locally produced chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma.
CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment that uses a patient’s own immune system to battle cancer cells. It’s a promising alternative to common treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, and can be the only viable option for some patients.
Alberta now offering life-saving T-cell cancer treatment
A cancer treatment that previously required travel outside the province, or the country, is now being offered in Alberta.
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CBC News ·
Posted: Apr 23, 2021 3:01 PM MT | Last Updated: April 23
Dr. Mona Shafey says CAR T-cell treatment can be a lifeline for some cancer patients. (Alberta Health) comments
A cancer treatment that previously required travel outside the province, or the country, is now being offered in Alberta.
The first patients to receive CAR T-cell therapy in the province are at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, while the government says a clinical trial to develop a made-in-Alberta CAR T-cell therapy is underway at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.
First Albertans receive CAR T-cell therapy
A promising new cancer treatment is now available in the province, ensuring cancer patients no longer need to travel elsewhere for this leading-edge care.
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The first Albertans received an approved CAR T-cell therapy last month at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. In addition, a clinical trial to develop a made-in-Alberta CAR T-cell therapy is underway at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.
“Alberta’s government is excited to offer this innovative treatment in our province, providing Albertans who urgently need this care with timely and convenient access here at home. I’m proud that Alberta has successfully launched its own CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial and is the third province to provide access to an approved version of this revolutionary cancer treatment.”
A new program using CAR T-cell therapy is underway at Calgary s Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) and is changing the way doctors approach the treatment of certain blood cancers. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy uses a person s own immune cells to fight cancer and will now be offered in Alberta to patients with specific kinds of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. CAR T-cell therapy has changed the way we approach the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said Dr. Mona Shafey, MD, FRCPC, hematologist and director of the Alberta Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. These patients have a very poor prognosis and often die of their disease. The availability of Yescarta gives these patients access to a potentially life-saving treatment.