In comparison to more established cancer treatments like radiation therapy, surgery, and chemotherapy, immune therapies have completely changed the game when it comes to cancer treatment.
CAR T-cell therapy, which initially authorized the Food and Drug Administration initially authorized in 2017 to cure a kind of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has generated the most excitement of any immunotherapy. At the time, Scott Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner at the moment, referred to the clearance as “a new frontier in medical innovation,” and it appeared that CAR T’s possibilities were almost limitless.
After almost 6 years, six treatments for blood cancers, such as lymphomas, leukemia, and multiple myeloma, have been certified. There is no doubt that CAR T performs exceptionally well in operation. Researchers are confused as to why it doesn’t function for most people or cancer categories.
According to Jakub Svoboda, an oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, “we have patients who, some years ago would have no options and because of this newer therapy they are now in long-term treatments.” As a third-line therapy for a specific type of lymphoma, he continued, “yet despite all of that, what I find in my clinic is that the number of individuals who benefit from this treatment is still far under 50%.”
