CAR T Therapy Triumphs Over Myeloma: 82% of Patients Alive After 5 Years.

According to ТСН: Multiple myeloma has long been considered an incurable disease as it affects the bone marrow and cannot be fully treated. However, new research results give hope to many patients. Scientists tested a therapy that uses the body’s natural defenses and achieved impressive results.

5 Years of Life Instead of One

A large study involved 97 patients with severe forms of cancer that were unresponsive to other treatments. Doctors predicted they had only a year or two left to live.

The patients received a one-time infusion of their immune cells, genetically modified in the laboratory to destroy cancer cells. According to results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 82 patients remained alive and healthy after five years.

Many of them showed no signs of cancer and required no further treatment.

"These patients meet the criteria for remission," said Professor Sundar Jagannath, the lead researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

British experts were also impressed. Professor Graham Jackson called this treatment "the most effective we have ever seen for myeloma," emphasizing that previously there was no talk of a complete cure for this disease.

How 'Living Medicine' Works

This method is known as CAR T-cell therapy and consists of several steps:

1. The patient's T-cells — immune cells that fight infections — are harvested.

2. They are genetically modified in the lab to recognize and attack myeloma cancer cells.

3. Millions of these "modified hunters" are reintroduced into the patient’s body via an IV.

Once in the bloodstream, these cells begin to patrol the body and destroy tumors regardless of their location.

Previously, myeloma was one of the most difficult diseases to treat because cancer "hid" deep in the bone marrow, causing bone destruction and other serious complications.

Price and Risks

Although the study results are impressive, the therapy has its specifics. Firstly, it can cause a strong immune reaction — cytokine release syndrome (high fever, inflammation), which requires medical supervision.

Secondly, it is an expensive treatment: one infusion costs about £350,000 (around 18.5 million UAH). Currently, this treatment method for myeloma is not widely available in public hospitals, but successful trials may expedite its implementation.

The use of CAR T-cell therapy appears to represent a new phase in the treatment of multiple myeloma, opening new possibilities for patients who previously had no suitable treatment options. The future of this approach will depend on further trials and addressing the issue of making the technology available to more people suffering from this serious disease.