Recently, NBC News’ Today did a profile on one of the first pediatric patients in the world to receive a CAR-T cell therapy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In April 2012, the patient was able to enroll in a pediatric phase I clinical trial to receive the CAR-T cell therapy, CTL019 or tisagenlecleucel. During the process, the patient’s T-cells were separated from the bloodstream and genetically engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) — an artificial receptor that allows T-cells to recognize cancerous cells. Once returned to the body, the re-engineered cells enabled the patient’s immune system to fight off the disease. Ten years after receiving the treatment, she now celebrates a decade of being cancer-free.
