Metastatic Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients, you should read and inform your oncologist.
What is CAR-T?
CAR-T therapy is an innovative treatment strategy based on genetic engineering of the patient’s own immune cells, T cells. In this technique, T cell are removed from the patient’s own blood and taken to lab where they are been added a gene which causes them to produce on their surface a protein (a receprot called CAR, Chimeric Antigen Receptor) which is bound to another specific protein which is expressed on the surface of the patient’s individual cancer cells and by that, kills them.
In the lab, billions of CAR-T cells are grown and infused back to the patient. That way, the cancer in the body is being attacked. CAR-T therapy is being investigated in a number of cancer types and brings great hope to many patients as more and more publications on its efficacy in cancer are released.
12 metastatic pancreatic cancer patients whose disease had worsened after first standard therapy of their metastatic disease and whose tumors expresses PSCA, have agreed to participate in a clinical trial where they will be treated with an innovative CAT-T therapy. This specific clinical trial is the first time pancreatic cancer patients receive such a treatment, “Phase I/II clinical trial”, in this particular study.
Efficacy was measurable in 6 of the 12 participants. Of those, 4 had no disease progression and in 2 the tumor had shrunk by 20% in the size of the metastases.
ALL 6 RESPONED TO TREATMENT
The study results were published in a European congress for oncology immunotherapy, called ESMO-IO, whick place in Geneva, Switzerland, December 13-19, 2018.
The study is open for recruitment in the USA and aims to recruit 138 patients.
For further reading
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/bellicum-reports-first-data-controllable-car-t?fbclid=IwAR2U9jlikS4HFJvPKKkMwm4ujDo3wXxxt4pctWyz_8AGzsO9j8W8PSX3NK0
