February 28, 2017 (STAT)
Kite Pharma is racing to win approval of their CAR-T cancer therapy. They have posted strong results with their new drug, stating that more than one-third of lymphoma patients are in remission six months after one treatment.
The main concern about the drug was how long the treatment effects would last. Therefore, this new posting released at six months, is favorable for the therapy.
Other concerns surround the side effects and risks of the treatment. Out of 101 patients, three died during the treatment of causes unrelated to the worsening of their cancer. However, the side-effects seemed manageable during the trial. The patients in this trial had no other options for their cancer treatment.
CAR-T Therapy is taking a patient’s own blood, filtering it to extract immune system T-cells, adding a gene that targets cancer, and re-injecting it intravenously back into the patient.
Read more about Kite’s study and several quotes by the doctors that led the study on STAT.
