We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Innovative Immunotherapy Treatment Demonstrates 90% Success Rate in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 09 Jun 2023
Print article
Image: Almost 90% of patients showed improvement with a new immunotherapy for multiple myeloma (Photo courtesy of Freepik)
Image: Almost 90% of patients showed improvement with a new immunotherapy for multiple myeloma (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Multiple myeloma, the second most prevalent blood cancer, has been notoriously resistant to treatment. Until a few years ago, the prognosis for this disease, accounting for one percent of all cancers and 10% of blood cancers, was a mere two-year average life expectancy. The disease's incidence is on the rise, with a projected 176,000 diagnoses worldwide in 2023. Now, a new ray of hope has emerged for those suffering from blood cancer, after nearly 90% of patients who underwent a novel immunotherapy treatment for multiple myeloma showed signs of improvement. Even more impressively, more than half - 57% - achieved remission. Clinical trials for this treatment, called CAR-T, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, are set to commence soon in the United States.

CAR-T therapy utilizes a patient’s healthy cells to destroy the cancerous ones. It involves isolating a patient’s T-cells – the proactive cells of the immune system with the ability to fight tumors – using an apheresis machine that separates the blood into red and white cells. Through genetic engineering, a virus and a genetic fragment that encodes a receptor targeting the cancer cells are introduced. These modified cells are then produced in large numbers and reinfused into the patient, where they proceed to seek out and destroy the multiple myeloma cells.

The CAR-T treatment was developed at the Hadassah Medical Organization (New York, NY, USA) in collaboration with researchers at Bar-Ilan University (Ramat Gan, Israel). Immix BioPharma (Los Angeles, CA, USA) has acquired the patent rights to the therapy and plans to soon commence clinical trials in the US with FDA approval likely within a year. The revolutionary concept of harnessing a patient’s own immune system cells to fight cancer cells was first put forward several decades ago. Since then, researchers at the Hadassah Medical Organization have spearheaded the development and promotion of CAR-T. By manufacturing CAR-T at Hadassah, the medical center has managed to make this formerly prohibitive treatment accessible. As the first and sole institution in Israel to develop, produce, and deliver CAR-T treatment, Hadassah is pioneering a field that holds the promise of CAR-T therapies for other cancer types in the future.

“These are dramatic results and offer enormous hope for patients who have a disease that, to date, has been incurable,” said Polina Stepensky, MD, a hematologist-oncologist, pediatrician and stem-cell transplantation expert who directs Hadassah’s Bone Marrow Transplantation Department. “Until now, this treatment has only been available in China and the United States at a cost of nearly USD 400,000 per patient treatment. Only 20% of those who need to receive it in those countries actually get it.”

Related Links:
Hadassah Medical Organization
Bar-Ilan University
Immix BioPharma

Platinum Supplier
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Gold Supplier
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
New
6MP Color LED Backlit LCD Monitor
C6MPG
New
Gold Supplier
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus

Print article
Radcal

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: The Galen ES is a cooperatively powered surgical assist device for ENT surgery (Photo courtesy of Galen Robotics)

World's First Cooperatively Powered Robotic Surgical Assistant Platform Facilitates ENT Procedures

While medical robots are becoming more common in surgical settings, there are still many surgeons who perform operations manually, relying on their skills to stabilize their hands and minimize tremors.... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The broad-spectrum POC coagulometer is well-suited for emergency room and emergency vehicle use (Photo courtesy of Perosphere)

Novel POC Coagulometer with Lab-Like Precision to Revolutionize Coagulation Testing

In emergency settings, when patients arrive with a bleed or require urgent surgery, doctors rely solely on clinical judgment to determine if a patient is adequately anticoagulated for reversal treatment.... Read more

Business

view channel
Image: The global surgical lights market is expected to grow by close to USD 0.50 billion from 2022 to 2027 (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Global Surgical Lights Market Driven by Increasing Number of Procedures

The global surgical lights market is set to witness high growth, largely due to the increasing incidence of chronic illnesses, a surge in demand for cosmetic and plastic surgeries, and untapped opportunities... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.