China announces low-cost cancer treatment that shortens treatment time

Chinese medical experts say they can create cancer-fighting cells inside the human body using gene therapy tools.

According to SCMP, a group of Chinese researchers has just announced a new method to help bring personalized cell therapy - which is specialized and expensive - into the treatment of blood cancer and many other serious diseases in a simpler and significantly more economical way.

The therapy, known as CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy), is a form of immunotherapy that has grown rapidly in recent years, not only in treating blood cancers but also in treating conditions such as asthma and autoimmune disorders. However, its high cost and complex manufacturing process make it difficult to make it widely available.

Immunotherapy , also known as biologic therapy, is a cancer treatment that uses the body's natural immune system to fight disease. This type of therapy can improve or change the way the immune system works, increasing its ability to recognize and kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy can also modulate or suppress the immune system, which is known as suppressive immunotherapy.

According to the research team from Wuhan (China), the limitations of CAR-T mainly come from the complicated production process, strict logistical requirements, long waiting time and "unreachable" cost.

A study published in Nature last year found that commercial CAR-T therapies, first approved in the US in 2017, cost between $370,000 and $530,000, not including inpatient treatment and medications to manage side effects.

To overcome this, Chinese scientists have used gene therapy tools to develop a viral vector - a virus modified to carry genetic material - that can reach T cells in the body and reprogram them to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Gene therapy is a technique that uses genes to prevent and treat diseases by replacing mutated genes with healthy genes, inactivating dysfunctional mutated genes, or introducing a new gene into the body to cure diseases.

“This is more like a ready-to-use product than a drug tailored to each individual,” the team noted.

In the early-stage (phase 1) clinical trial, the team treated four adult patients with multiple myeloma, the second most common blood cancer.

Patients all received a single intravenous dose of a viral vector (a virus that has been modified to carry genetic material used in gene therapy).

Illustration photo. (Source: SCMP)

While CAR-T treatment for multiple myeloma patients previously took 3 to 6 weeks, with the Chinese research team's "ready-to-use" solution, the entire treatment cycle can be shortened to 72 hours, thanks to the elimination of steps such as cell collection, in vitro culture, and chemotherapy before cell infusion.

As of April 1, all patients had completed two months of follow-up. Results showed that two achieved “strict complete remission,” with tumor lesions completely disappearing; the other two achieved “partial remission,” with tumors significantly shrinking within 28 days of treatment.

Around the world , many research groups and biotechnology companies are pursuing the treatment of programming immune cells directly in the body.

In June, scientists from Capstan Therapeutics, a California-based startup, also announced a CAR-T gene delivery system in vivo and recorded the ability to control tumors in animal models. This study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Science./.

Personalized cell therapy is a medical treatment that uses cells tailored to each patient's unique characteristics, aiming to improve treatment effectiveness and reduce side effects compared to traditional methods.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/trung-quoc-cong-bo-lieu-phap-chua-ung-thu-gia-re-rut-ngan-thoi-gian-dieu-tri-post1051392.vnp