For one early adopter, CAR T therapy means 18 months cancer-free and counting

For as long as he can remember, Josh Feldman has eagerly embraced the latest technology.Decades ago, his family was the first one on the block with a VCR. Years later, when television went hi-def, he acquired a big-screen TV and signed up for HD service.So after he was diagnosed with lymphoma, it was only natural that Feldman was driven to join clinical trials for a promising new treatment. He would become one of the first UCLA Health patients to receive CAR T therapy. When nothing else worked, the treatment beat back cancer and filled his life with new hope.“Years ago, while doing my own reading after my diagnosis, I learned about CAR T,” he said. “I envisioned that it was going to be groundbreaking, and I wanted to be part of it.”CAR T, which stands for “chimeric antigen receptor T cell,” is an immunotherapy­ — it fights disease by bolstering T cells, which play a central role in the immune response, to enhance the body’s own natural defenses. Two CAR T treatments were recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and on Feb. 1, UCLA Health became one of the few institutions to begin providing such therapy outside of clinical trials. For now, UCLA Health is offering one of the two treatments, for certain types of lymphoma — including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — for which other therapies have proved ineffective; hospital officials expect to provide the other treatment, for a form of leukemia, in the coming months.With CAR T, the medical tea...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news