In celebration of the opening of the CAR T-Cell (Chimeric antigen receptor T cells) Therapy Center, a symposium was held virtually and in-person on July 13. Under the theme of ‘Embarking on a New Era of CAR T Therapy,’ presentations and Q&A sessions were given regarding ▲ Developmental paradigm of CAR T therapy and clinical outcomes, ▲ CAR T therapy process, ▲ Key toxicity management in CAR T therapy, and more.

CAR T therapy involves extraction of T-cells, a patient’s own immune cells, and engineering of the T-cells to express chimeric antigen receptors that react to certain cancer cells, after which the cells are infused into the patient again to destroy cancer cells. The therapy can be applied to patients whose age is ≤ 25 and have recurrent or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia and patients whose age is ≥ 19 and have recurrent or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after undergoing two or more systemic treatments. Both the diseases are difficult to cure with post-diagnosis life expectancy of only 6 months. However, it is known that the cancer is completely eradicated in approximately 80% of the B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia patients who are ≤ 25 years old and approximately half of the patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are ≥ 19 years old when CAR T drugs are used. AMC opened the CAR T-Cell Therapy Center in April this year and developed medical guidelines and standard operational procedures for systemized treatment.

Professor Dok Hyun Yoon, the Director for the CAR T-Cell Therapy Center, said, “We will collaborate with diverse departments including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Department of Neurology, and the Division of Infectious Diseases for early discovery of possible complications and safe treatment during the course of CAR T therapy.”