Ground-Breaking CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy for Children with Treatment-Resistant Leukemia

What is CAR T-Cell Therapy?

CAR T-cell therapy is a prescription cancer treatment used in patients up to 25 years old who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is either relapsed (went into remission, then came back) or is refractory (did not go into remission after receiving other leukemia treatments). This therapy is also approved for adults with lymphoma.

ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer. More than half of all diagnoses are children and young adults. Most patients recover through a combination of radiation, chemotherapy and stem cell transplant treatment. However, if the cancer comes back or is resistant to treatment, a positive prognosis is challenging.

CAR T-cell therapy is a game-changer for patients with treatment-resistant cancer. There has been an urgent need to develop new cancer treatment options that could improve outcomes for these patients. CAR T-cell gives them a second chance.

How Does CAR T-Cell Therapy Work?

This new, advanced therapy uses a patient’s own T-cells, a type of immune system cell, to fight the cancer. The cells are genetically modified and given the ability to recognize and kill the source of the cancer. They are grown in the laboratory at the Wesley Center for Immunotherapy at UH Seidman Cancer Center and infused back into to the patient. The T-cells then multiply in the patient's blood and attack cancer cells. The patient’s own cells are essentially reprogrammed as cancer killers.

Results so far are astounding. Within three months of CAR T-cell infusion, over 80 percent of patients were in remission. This groundbreaking treatment has made headlines around the world, and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is one of the first medical centers to offer this cancer treatment.