Mayo Clinic Advances CAR-T Cell Therapy for Liver Cancer, Secondary Cancer Rate at 6.5%

Sep 19, 2024, 07:03 AM

Researchers at Mayo Clinic are pioneering the use of engineered viruses combined with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) for a multipronged attack on liver cancer. CAR-T cell therapy harnesses the power of a person's immune system to combat cancer cells. Advances in the management of CAR T-cell therapy–related cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) have improved the safety and feasibility of outpatient axi-cel and brexu-cel administration for patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R NHL). A new study found that the secondary cancer rate of patients who had received CAR T-cell therapy was approximately 6.5%, lower than some had anticipated. Immunotherapy is being highlighted as a major breakthrough in treating cancer, offering hope in reducing the heavy death toll cancer still delivers, which accounted for 21% of all deaths in 2019.