Woman Cancer-Free for 18 Years After Pioneering CAR T-Cell Therapy

A woman treated with CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for neuroblastoma as a child has remained cancer-free for over 18 years without further treatment, marking the longest-known survival following this therapy for an active cancer

CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically engineers a patient’s immune cells to target cancer, has shown success in blood cancers but has been less effective in solid tumours. However, this case offers new hope for its potential in treating childhood cancers.

Published in Nature Medicine, the study followed 19 children treated between 2004 and 2009. While 12 patients relapsed and died, seven survived long-term, including two with active cancer at the time of treatment. One discontinued follow-ups after eight years, but the other remains cancer-free after 18 years and has had two healthy pregnancies.

Professor Helen Heslop from Baylor College of Medicine called the case a milestone, while Dr. Karin Straathof from UCL hailed it as proof that solid tumours can achieve long-term remission.

Researchers are now working to improve CAR T-cell therapy to increase its success in solid tumours.

Link