What are CAR T Cell Therapies and How Do They Help People with Blood Cancers?

There are 1.5 million Americans living with, or in remission from, a form of blood cancer. Many of these cancers fall into the category of B-cell mediated lymphomas, a type of the disease that starts in B-cells (a type of white blood cell) and often develops in adults older than 60, though can also be diagnosed earlier in life.

B-cell lymphomas can include both fast-growing (aggressive) and slow-growing (indolent) forms, and for those who relapse after initial treatment, or do not respond to initial therapies (refractory), prognosis is poor and there is a profound need for additional effective treatment options.

This September, during Blood Cancer Awareness month, we are thrilled to offer the opportunity to hear from expert Dr. Matthew Lunning, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Astrid Q., who was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 28, and after initially undergoing chemotherapy, experienced a return of her cancer and was then treated with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy in a clinical trial. Together they can discuss the reality that people face when dealing with relapsed or refractory (R/R) lymphoma and why CAR T cell therapy was the best option for her.

Most importantly, they can provide a deep dive into CAR T cell therapy, an innovative, personalized treatment for certain blood cancers that uses a person’s own immune cells to fight the disease. CAR T cell therapy has been shown to produce results in people living with certain B-cell lymphomas – when other treatments have failed.

Matthew Lunning D.O., FACP, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Lunning also is Associate Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Director of the Clinical Research Center (CRC), and Medical Director of Cellular Therapies.  He has served on several National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s guidelines committees including the Immunotherapy Toxicity & T-cell lymphoma panels. Dr. Lunning has been active in clinic research, research mentoring, education, and patient care.

About Astrid Q.:

Astrid Q. was diagnosed with lymphoma when she was 28 years old, while in college studying to become a physician’s assistant (PA). Despite initial rounds of chemotherapy, her cancer returned so she enrolled in a clinical trial to receive a CAR T cell therapy. At the time of her clinical trial participation Astrid was studying for the PA exam while receiving and recovering from CAR T cell therapy treatment. Since her one-time* treatment with CAR T, her yearly scans have been clear. Astrid enjoys meditation, spending time with her husband and baby boy, and her job as a PA.

* Treatment process can take approximately 2-3 months and includes leukapheresis, manufacturing, administration, and adverse event monitoring

This interview is sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb.

#cancer #bloodcancermedicine #excitingadvances #hope #empowerment #patients

The post Exciting Advances in Blood Cancer Medicine Offer Hope and Empowerment to Patients appeared first on Good News!.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common form, accounting for approximately 85% of all lung cancers.2 Many people diagnosed with early-stage NSCLC have surgery to remove the cancer; however, for approximately half of these patients, the cancer unfortunately returns.3 Experts agree there is an urgent need for enhanced screening uptake — which has hovered around five percent in recent years amongst those eligible to receive it4 — as well as improved treatment options in early-stage NSCLC to help prevent devastating cancer recurrences.

Studies have shown that treatments beyond chemotherapy, including targeted therapy and now immunotherapy – a type of personalized cancer treatment that activates the immune system to fight cancer – may help improve outcomes for certain patients with early-stage NSCLC after surgery.5 What’s promising is that these studies have now led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals in the post-surgery setting to help reduce the risk of recurrence for patients with specific types of early-stage NSCLC, introducing a new era for these lung cancer patients.

Dr. David Carbone, Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the James Thoracic Oncology Center at Ohio State University Medical Center will discuss the latest progress, including one of the most recent developments in early-stage lung cancer for patients.

Interview courtesy: Genentech

1 ACS. Key Statistics for Lung Cancer. 2022. Accessed from: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html.
2 Molina et al. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Treatment, and Survivorship. Mayo Clin Proc. 2008 May; 83(5): 584–594. Accessed September 27, 2021.
3 Yano T, Okamoto T, Fukuyama S, Maehara Y. Therapeutic strategy for postoperative recurrence in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. World J Clin
Oncol. 2014;5(5):1048-1054. doi:10.5306/wjco.v5.i5.1048
4 Fedewa SA, Kazerooni EA, Studts JL, et al. State Variation in Low-Dose CT Scanning for Lung Cancer Screening in the United States. JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaa170
5 Zappa et al. Non-small cell lung cancer: current treatment and future advances. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2016 Jun; 5(3): 288–300. doi:
10.21037/tlcr.2016.06.07.

#davidcarbone #lungcancer #genentech #americancancersociety #factsfigures #disease #aminotherapy #etizolam #go2foundation #nsclc #surgery #chemotherapy #medicine #treatments #patients

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#deepa #halaharvi #breast #cancer #chemotherapy #therapies #hormone #blocking #lymph #nodes #rxponder #menopausal #effects #oncotype #dx #recurrence #genomic #benefit #risk #exact

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