UVA Cancer’s CAR T-cell therapy is a cutting-edge type of cancer treatment which supercharges immune cells to better destroy cancer cells.
In July, select adult outpatients at UVA Cancer Center will receive treatment without having to stay in the hospital.
Evaluations by UVA Cancer Center’s treatment team reveal that certain patients are able to receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy as outpatients in the infusion center at UVA Health’s Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center.
According to Dr. Indumathy Varadarajan, a UVA oncologist leading the program, the outpatient treatment option means patients can receive care in a more comfortable setting.
“As outpatients, they can receive additional support from family and loved ones, have the food and drink of their choice and yet receive the same medical care they would if they were in the hospital,” Varadarajan said.
A small number of white blood cells called T cells, either from the patient’s blood or a donor’s blood, are extracted with CAR T-cell therapy, then genetically modified to kill cancer. Modified T cells are infused back into the patient, the cells replicate and become a vast army of cancer killers. CAR T-cell therapy is used to battle blood cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Patients who would like to learn more about outpatient CAR T-cell therapy should call 434-310-0825.
UVA Cancer Center’s top researchers continue to explore CAR T-cell therapy’s potential. UVA recently launched the world’s first Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center to open new fronts in the war against different forms of cancer, from breast cancer to brain tumors.
A primary mission of UVA Cancer Center is to find new and better ways to deliver the most advanced cancer care. The center is one of only 54 in the United States designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
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Rebecca Barnabi
