Ep. 450: Fighting Cancer with CAR-T Cells

Guest: Sarah Roth, BC Cancer Foundation

Cancer – there are more than 200 different types.

The odds are high that you or someone you know will get cancer. It is an insidious disease; it can start almost anywhere in your body and spread. Stopping its spread is the work of cancer researchers all over the world and experts in British Columbia are developing breakthroughs.

Recently a multi-site Phase-I clinical trial, launched by BC Cancer and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, of made-in-Canada chimeric antigen receptor T-cells demonstrated positive results. CAR-T cells are powerful new tools for treating cancer that are created by genetically modifying a person’s existing T-cells. These T-cells are being used to target CD19, a protein marker found on all B-cells in patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Phase-II will allow BC Cancer to produce the CAR-T cell product and run the trial for 20 patients in BC over the next two years.

Dr. Brad Nelson, director of Deeley Research Centre, says, “Over the next several years, BC Cancer’s CAR-T cell program will expand beyond leukemia and lymphoma to create new and improved treatments for a wide spectrum of cancers.” Sarah Roth, the CEO of the BC Cancer Foundation, says, “The Deeley Research Centre in Victoria is a world pioneer in immunotherapy, harnessing the body’s own immune system to prevent, control and eliminate cancer – and has already revolutionized cancer care.”

We invited Sarah Roth to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the many research projects underway in British Columbia that will help us defeat cancer.