The therapy is being used on non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients, and reprogrammes their immune cells to recognise and kill cancer cells. File photo. Photo: Pixabay
Blood cancer patients will begin the second phase of a ground-breaking clinical trial at Wellington Hospital this month, with the one-off treatment having the potential to target a range of cancers and other autoimmune diseases.
The CAR-T Cell therapy is used on non-Hodgkin Lymphoma patients, where it reprogrammes their immune cells to recognise and kill cancer cells.
Ground breaking clinical trial for blood cancer continues
Malaghan Institute clinical director Dr Robert Weinkove says starting the second phase is a major step towards the therapy becoming a standard of care for certain blood cancers in New Zealand.
"We have final regulatory and ethical approvals, our first site is ready to go, and clinicians around New Zealand have been advised of the criteria and how to refer patients. We hope this new trial will confirm effectiveness and safety of our new NZ-developed CAR T-cell therapy and result in registration for routine use in New Zealand and overseas," he said.
In 2019, the Malaghan Institute set up New Zealand's first ever CAR-T Cell trial, which resulted in more than half of the patients in complete remission. The treatment is widely used in the US, and kiwi patients have had to travel over there for the expensive - but effective - treatment.
For the second phase, 60 cancer patients will be treated over two years. Dr Weinkove said after assessing the dose and safety of this new CAR T-cell therapy in a phase 1 trial where patients had exhausted all other treatments, the phase 2 patients will be treated earlier.
"We are hopeful that treating patients earlier - as a second- or third-line therapy - will result in even better CAR Tcell outcomes as their immune system function may have been less damaged by their prior cancer treatments.
"This may also limit the need for patients to go through repeated chemotherapies with diminishing returns," he said.
The institute is hoping the therapy will soon be registered for routine use here, and said it was already discussing the next steps with the government and health sector.