CAR T-cell Therapy

CAR T-cell therapy is a breakthrough cancer treatment that uses a patient’s own cells to fight cancer. It is approved for leukaemias and lymphomas, and has shown high efficacy in certain kinds, with remission rates as high as 90%.
However, it is still in its early stages of development, and there are challenges with preparation, side effects, and affordability.

Procedure:
T cells are taken from a patient’s blood and modified in the laboratory to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which binds to a certain protein on the patient’s cancer cells. The CAR T cells are then grown in the laboratory and infused back into the patient.

Significance:
CAR T-cell therapy is highly specific and directly stimulates the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. This makes it more effective than traditional treatments like chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Challenges:
• Preparation: CAR T-cell therapy is complex and expensive to prepare, which has limited its widespread use.
• Side effects: CAR T-cell therapy can cause serious side effects, such as cytokine release syndrome and neurological symptoms.
• Affordability: CAR T-cell therapy is very expensive, and it may not be affordable for most people in India.

Despite these challenges, CAR T-cell therapy is a promising new treatment for cancer. It has the potential to cure patients who have not responded to other treatments, and it is an area of active research.