The FDA has just approved the second
gene-altering cancer treatment, this one for patients suffering from
diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an aggressive form of blood cancer. The
risky treatment is another step toward re-engineering the human immune
system.
“Living Drug” for Cancer
On 18 October the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the second
gene-altering cancer treatment for patients with diffuse large B-cell
lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common aggressive type of non-Hodgkin
lymphoma (NHL), a blood cancer. The new therapy, Yescarta, is now
approved only for adults who have had two or more failed chemotherapy
regimens.
Yescarta, made by biopharmaceutical company Kite, is a kind of gene
therapy. It works by re-engineering a patient’s own immune system and
transforming their own cells into a “living drug” that can identify and
kill cancer cells. This is a type of immunotherapy, treatments that
combine medical and genetic techniques to equip the immune systems of
patients to fight off diseases. In certain instances, these therapies
have led to significant remissions, and even cures.
“Today is an important day for patients with relapsed or refractory
large B-cell lymphoma who have run out of options and have been waiting
for new treatments that may help them in their fight against cancer,”
Gilead Sciences President and CEO John Milligan said in a press release (Gilead owns Kite as of 2016).
Nothing to Lose
Three of every five cases of aggressive NHL are the DLBCL variety.
There are about 7,500 patients with refractory DLBCL in the US annually
who are eligible for CAR T therapy. The need for new treatments is dire;
only seven percent of patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma
who receive the current standard of care attain a complete response, and
as a group the patients typically have a median overall survival of
about six months. Right now, almost half of patients with large B-cell
lymphoma who survive to undertake second or later lines of therapy do
not respond to treatment, and relapse quickly.
About 3,500 Americans each year could be candidates for Yescarta, a
one-time intravenous infusion that is individually manufactured for each
patient at a cost of $373,000. The treatment is risky, and can come
with life-threatening side-effects, such as neurological problems,
serious infections, and even death. However, since the eligible patients
are facing such a high risk of death, most seem to think it’s worth the
risk.
Tina Bureau, a lymphoma patient who participated in the drug’s study and is now in remission, told the New York Times
no other treatment until Yescarta worked for her. “Yes, it can pose
life threatening problems,” Bureau said. “But when you’re in a situation
where your life’s threatened anyway, I don’t feel you have anything to
lose.”
Source Link: https://futurism.com/fda-approves-radical-new-gene-altering-cancer-treatment/
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