British Columbia is beginning to offer a cutting-edge immunotherapy cancer treatment for some patients who haven’t had success with standard chemotherapy or radiation.
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, commonly referred to as CAR-T, treats lymphoma and leukemia by collecting a patient’s white blood cells and genetically engineering them to recognize and kill cancer cells, according to B.C. Cancer.
Dr. Kim Chi, chief medical officer for B.C. Cancer, says patients who needed the treatment would previously have to be sent outside the province or country.
Provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix says $14.3 million in this year’s budget means up to 20 adults and five children will be able to get CAR-T at Vancouver General Hospital and B.C. Children’s Hospital starting this month.
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