Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., August 19, 2024 – Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center together with RWJBarnabas Health, has treated its 200th patient with CAR T-cell therapy , a type of immunotherapy that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer.
Harnessing the immune system to target cancer is the goal of a groundbreaking area of research called cell therapy. This process includes collecting T-cells from a patient’s blood through an infusion-like process called apheresis, and the cells are sent to a laboratory. In the lab, scientists modify the T-cells by adding a special receptor called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) which enables the modified T-cells to seek out and kill cancer cells.
The patient’s reengineered CAR T-Cells are returned to them through an infusion, and the cells begin to multiply and attach to cancer cells to destroy them. 76-year-old patient Michael Hreha was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2019. When his disease became resistant to chemotherapy, he discussed the available options with his doctor, Andrew M.
Evens, DO, MBA, MSc , deputy director for clinical services, Rutgers Cancer Institute; and system director of medical oncology, and oncology lead for the RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group, and knew that CAR-T cell immunotherapy was the best option for him. “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to receive CAR T-cell therapy close to home at Rut.