Princess Alexandra Hospital has officially gone live with CAR-T cell therapy as a standard of care for people with lymphoma.
After leading the way as the first site in Queensland to provide allogenic CAR-T cell treatment for lymphoma in Queensland in 2023 in the research setting, PAH has now joined RBWH and Townsville Hospital in the delivery of this innovative treatment option for cancers, collecting cells from the first patient on 5 June.
CAR-T cell therapy uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer through a process in which the patient’s T cells, a type of white blood cell, are removed from the patient’s blood and enhanced in a lab with Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR) which helps them recognise and attack cancer cells.
After growing and multiplying the CAR-T cells in the lab, they are transported back and reinfused into the patient’s body.
Haematologist, Dr Fiona Swain said the service expects to see a predicted 36 patients per year taking referrals from across Metro South Health catchment, Toowoomba, and private hospitals.
“There is a significant team effort required given the coordination for each individual patient is complicated, taking multiple weeks of preparation followed by a long inpatient stay,” Dr Swain said.
“In particular, CAR-T is a massive workload for our apheresis department and the stem cell laboratory who have additional auditing procedures. Cells need to be collected from patients and sent overseas for manufacturing which takes a minimum of three weeks.”
PAH’s first patient to undergo cell collection is Toowoomba resident, Christina, whose lymphoma returned in November 2024 after three years in remission following conventional chemotherapy treatment.
“I feel very privileged to be the first patient at PA - while it was daunting at first, it’s really exciting that it might be cured,” Christina said.
“I’m thankful for the care I have received and the opportunity to have CAR-T. Everyone has been amazing and hopefully it will be a new and successful treatment pathway for other people.”
Congratulations to the massive team who have made this a reality for PAH patients including Haematology, nurses, apheresis staff, the lab staff who manage the stem cells, pharmacy, allied health, informatics, data management; and then there is the impacts on the other departments including Emergency presentations, ICU admissions, increased utilisation of radiology resources, and after-hours management of those patients.
Find out more about the establishment of this service under the leadership of Dr Fiona Swain here.