CAR T-Cell Therapy
Emerging form of cancer immunotherapy
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a new type of cancer treatment that trains the immune system to attack cancer cells. This innovative treatment is used to treat some blood cancers. With the therapy, your own cells are engineered to target and attack cancer cells.
IU Health was the first health system in Indiana to have access to CAR T-cell therapy.
What is CAR T-Cell Therapy?
This CAR T-cell therapy involves supercharging a patient’s T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Your T cells are a kind of white blood cell that has the job of targeting and destroying bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells.
However, with certain types of blood and immune cell cancers, your T-cells may not be able to do their job properly. That’s where CAR T-cell therapy may help. It is used when other kinds of treatment don’t work. IU Health offers treatment for the following conditions:
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- non-Hodgkin lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma)
- multiple myeloma
Treatment
For this treatment, your blood will be collected over the course of a few hours and passed through a machine that separates out some of your T cells.
After your T cells are collected, they will be sent to a laboratory and modified to become CAR T cells. You will undergo three days of low-dose conditioning chemotherapy to prepare your body for treatment. Your CAR T cells will then be infused back into your body to help recognize and attack your cancer cells.
What to Expect with CAR T-Cell Therapy
What is CAR T-Cell Therapy?
This CAR T-cell therapy involves supercharging a patient’s T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Your T cells are a kind of white blood cell that has the job of targeting and destroying bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells.
However, with certain types of blood and immune cell cancers, your T-cells may not be able to do their job properly. That’s where CAR T-cell therapy may help. It is used when other kinds of treatment don’t work. IU Health offers treatment for the following conditions:
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- non-Hodgkin lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma)
- multiple myeloma
Treatment
For this treatment, your blood will be collected over the course of a few hours and passed through a machine that separates out some of your T cells.
After your T cells are collected, they will be sent to a laboratory and modified to become CAR T cells. You will undergo three days of low-dose conditioning chemotherapy to prepare your body for treatment. Your CAR T cells will then be infused back into your body to help recognize and attack your cancer cells.
- Am I a candidate for CAR T-cell therapy?
- What are some side effects of CAR T-cell therapy?
- Can my cancer be treated by CAR T-cell therapy?
- When is CAR T-cell therapy used in treatment?
Questions to Ask Your Provider About CAR T-Cell Therapy
- Am I a candidate for CAR T-cell therapy?
- What are some side effects of CAR T-cell therapy?
- Can my cancer be treated by CAR T-cell therapy?
- When is CAR T-cell therapy used in treatment?
Jan 03
Derry Ebert has learned much from his cancer journey. Now he wants to encourage others.
Patient Stories for CAR T-Cell Therapy
Jan 03
Derry Ebert has learned much from his cancer journey. Now he wants to encourage others.