Shanghai Cancer Center successfully uses innovative treatment method

The Shanghai Cancer Center reported its first successful usage of an innovative immunotherapy treatment for lymphoma on Monday.

The clinical trial is called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy (CAR-T), which means modifying disease-fighting T cells extracted from the patients to allow them to contain a synthetic, cancer-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in their genomes. Then the modified T cells are intravenously transferred back into the patient, after which CAR works like a GPS to guide T cells to identify cancerous cells and kill them.

CAR-T therapy is a kind of treatment that uses people's own immune systems to fight against cancerous cells.

The female patient was diagnosed with lymphoma early this year. After treatment, her condition was partially under control. However, in recent days the disease developed quickly and the patient has suffered overall pain and a cancer-related bone fracture, rendering her unable to walk.

Doctors at the Shanghai Cancer Center found the usual treatment, including targeted medicine, was not effective for the patient and suggested CAR-T.

The patient accepted the suggestion and began treatment.

Her T cells were collected in early October, and she underwent the transfer of modified cells in November.

"All data and imaging checks found that the disease is well under control, which means the therapy has had a great effect on the patient," said Dr Ji Dongmei from the hospital. "We will continue following the case to evaluate its long-term effects."

In addition to lymphoma, the hospital's other departments have also launched similar clinical trials using cell immunotherapy on pancreatic cancer, bone cancer and female cancers. Cell therapy has been heavily involved in the treatment of solid tumor growth.

Ti Gong