The longest case of remission thanks to the Car-T cells concerns a woman edited by a solid tumor, the most difficult to cure with this therapy.
In 2006 a four -year -old girl took part in a highly experimental therapy at the time conducted at the Texas Children’s Hospital to treat a neuroblastoma (a nerve cell tumor), after several chemo cycles and radiotherapy had not given appreciable results.
Today that little girl is a woman, who remained free from cancer for almost 19 years: not only has the cure worked, but has placed the conditions for The longest period of remission ever obtained thanks to the Car-Ttherapy based on engineered immune cells that is revolutionizing anti-cancer treatments.
A look at the future. The clinical case described on Nature Medicine it is of great importance because it concerns solid tumora solid mass of cancer cells – target against which the car -t, which produced exceptional results against blood cancers such as lymphomas and leukemias, have long struggled to give fruit.
Only recently did the therapies based on engineered immune cells begin to give convincing results against solid tumors (such as neuroblastoma, an extra -granic tumor of the sympathetic nervous, typical of the pediatric age, or glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain tumor). That’s why the perspective that not only work, but can do it in the long term It opens great hopes, in pediatric oncology and beyond.
Lymphocytes with superpowers. The Car-T (the abbreviation is for Chimeric antigens receptor cells-t) I am lymphocytes t (The white blood cells that normally recognize threats consisting of viruses or malignant cells, maintaining the memory of the attacks suffered) engineered to recognize and target a specific cellular antigen, such as those expressed by cancer cells. The modified and expanded cells are reinfused in the patient’s body.
An unexpected result. The trial in which the patient took part could be defined … “Vintage”, with first generation car-t. In the following years, Car-T therapies have been made more effective and more tolerable for patients, and have proven to be very promising especially for blood neoplasms. In 2022, a study on the results of one of these first trials had shown that two people with leukemia curated with Car-T had remained free from cancer for 11 years, at the time a record. But now the primacy has been overcome, moreover by a solid tumor.
Mixed efficacy. To the time, at the time, 10 other people with Neuroblastoma resistant to standard therapies or recurrence were treated, all without particular side effects.
One of them has remained free from cancer for 9 years Before leaving the study and it was not possible to have feedback on his subsequent health. The other 9 died due to neuroblastoma in the years following the treatment.
It is not clear why in some people the car-t proves to be far more effective. It could depend on the genetic characteristics of the patient’s immune cells, on previous exhibitions to infections or lifestyle, or even from how much the Car-T persecute in the patient’s body after infusion. Or it could depend on the tumorwith some more resistant forms than others to the attack of the engineered cells.
Early. 8 other children had received a diagnosis of cancer but did not show signs of illness at the time of the trial. However, or because they are considered to highly risk or because cancer had however returned after standard therapies, they were still treated with Car-T. Of these 8, 5 were still free from cancer 10-15 years after treatment.
It is not clear whether in these cases the “cure” were the car-t or if the disease had already been eradicated before the trial, but the fact suggests that the car-t therapy could be tested even not in cases of very advanced diseasewhich has been rarely tempted so far.
