The regimen, based on reprogramming the patient's immune T cells to attack the cancer cells, led to the disappearance of cancer in 90 percent of patients, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A new leukemia immune treatment being developed by Novartis AG (NOVN) led to the disappearance of cancer in 90 percent of patients, a study showed.
The therapy, a process that involved taking a patient’s T cells and reprogramming them to hunt cancer cells, resulted in complete remission of 27 of 30 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a deadly pediatric cancer, according to the study published today by the New England Journal of Medicine.
The early-stage trial of CTL019 engineered cells conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania indicates the potential of the complicated treatment, which analysts have estimated may generate $10 billion a year if its uses expand beyond leukemia. The therapy can provoke serious side affects, however, and eight of the 30 patients required intensive care for severe cytokine-release syndrome.
“We are excited by these results, which indicated how effective CTL019 may be in fighting ALL, a leading cause of childhood cancer deaths,” said lead investigator Stephan Grupp, a professor at the university.
Report on Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1CpM031
Link to the article in NEJM: http://bit.ly/1syxUeI
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
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