Tingting, an 11-year-old girl, suffered from B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood and was treated at the National Taiwan University Hospital, becoming the first successful case of CAR-T cell therapy in Taiwan. (Photo / Provided by National Taiwan University Hospital)
Cell therapy has become a new savior in the fight against cancer! International research organizations pointed out that the business opportunity of CAR-T cell therapy will be as high as 219 million US dollars in 2022, and it is estimated to double to 643 million US dollars in 10 years. -T treatment, animal experiments have shown that almost 90% of lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon and rectal cancer cells can disappear, and the survival time can be extended 3 to 5. However, you must pass’ r “Regenerative Medicine Act” before the treatment can be applied.
Mr Cai, aged 71, suffers from diffuse large B-lymphocyte carcinoma. Due to the high level of malignancy of the tumor, several rounds of chemotherapy and targeting failed to get good results. After discussing with doctors, he decided to receive CAR -T in February this year Cell therapy (full name “chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy”, cell therapy Chimeric antigen receptor T).
Dr. Ye Shipeng, deputy director of the Department of Internal Medicine of the Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, told the CTWANT reporter that the immune T cells in Mr. Cai’s blood are first concentrated and frozen, and then transported to the cell factory in Switzerland at a low temperature throughout the entire process The CAR-T cell army was then transported back to Taiwan in a cold chain, and then transfused back into Mr. Cai’s body. One month after the CAR-T transplant, Mr Cai’s cancer cells were “detected zero” by precise tracking with positron emission tomography.
Ye Shipeng said that according to clinical research results, more than 50% of refractory or relapsed “diffuse large B-cell lymphoma” cancer cells will be eliminated by CAR-T cell therapy, and after more than 2 years of follow-up, there is a therapeutic response There are 60% of patients without recurrence. Since National Taiwan University Hospital took the lead in providing CAR-T cell therapy in 2022, many medical centers such as Sanzong, Rongzong, Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, and Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital are now receiving this course of treatment.
Although the effect of CAR-T treatment is good, the whole course of treatment will cost about 12 million to 15 million at his own expense. In addition, the patient’s own cells need to be used, and the cells will be sent abroad to do a customized treatment The waiting time is at least two months Patients can’t wait, and the cell quality of terminally ill patients may not be good. Most importantly, CAR-T therapy is currently limited to blood cancers. Zhou Deyang, dean of China Affiliated Hospital Medical University and director of the Cell Therapy Translational Center, said that more than 90% of cancer patients are solid tumors, such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, etc. Cells solid cancer is like a castle, and immune cells are difficult to overcome. In the same tumor, the antigen expression of each cell may be different, so single target CAR-T cells cannot effectively eliminate cancer cells.
After nearly 20 years of hard work, Zhou Deyang and his research team have developed “Allogeneic Transplantation, Non-viral Gene Modified Multi-target Nanobody-CAR.BiTE-gdT Immune Cell Therapy” CAR-T therapy transplantation, will the patient is used immediately on the day after the test is completed, CAR.BiTE-gdT cell therapy can effectively penetrate the solid cancer, and secrete BiTE (bi-directed T cell activating antibody ) to activate peripheral immune cells to fight cancer with joint cells, In lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer mouse models, the survival time was effectively extended 3 to 5 times, and even cancer cells almost disappeared for a period of time. However, the cost of CAR.BiTE-gdT can be reduced to about one-fifth under the automated mass production process.
The research results were accepted for publication in the authoritative international journal “Advanced Science” in March this year, and are currently undergoing patent review in the United States and other countries, and the technology has been transferred to a biotechnology company and is expected to start clinical trials within this year and be applied to lung cancer, Treating patients with cancers such as colon and rectal cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. However, since this therapy requires an “allogeneic transplant,” the draft of the “Regenerative Medicine Act” must be passed before it can be applied to future treatment.
