News Desk, News Nation 360 : In a groundbreaking move, Apollo Cancer Centres (ACCs) has become the first group of private hospitals in India to successfully complete a CAR-T cell programme. This is in addition to the group's recent announcement that patients aged 15 and up will now have access to "Made in India" CAR-T cell therapy, starting with NexCAR19TM (Actalycabtagene autoleucel), for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and B-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The world has taken notice of CAR-T cell therapies due to their unmatched ability to improve patients' lives who have been diagnosed with difficult B-cell malignancies. Having used this therapeutic model to treat more than 25,000 patients globally. CAR-T cell therapies, sometimes referred to as "living drugs," entail the extraction of a patient's T-cells—a subset of white blood cells with an anti-cancer role—using a procedure called apheresis. These T-cells are
subsequently genetically engineered in a controlled laboratory environment using a safe vehicle (viral vector) to produce altered surface connectors known as Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs). These CARs are made especially to identify a protein that is overexpressed on some types of cancer cells. After being multiplied to the required dose, they are infused straight into the patient. Dr. Anupam Chakrapani, Senior Consultant - Haematology & BMT Specialist, ACC, Kolkata, stated that the effective management of three patients through commercial CAR-T cell therapy signifies a noteworthy advancement in the battle against B-cell lymphomas and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. These examples demonstrate the effectiveness and promise of this transformative therapy in giving patients with these difficult conditions fresh hope. They are now prepared to treat patients with the locally developed therapy after successfully treating them with imported medications. In the Indian medical community, Apollo Cancer Centres has consistently introduced innovative medical infrastructure and achieved many firsts. The development of CAR-T cell therapy has ushered in a new era for national cancer care.
Pic - Krishnendu Kundu
