In another milestone since the implementation of CAR-T therapy at Jiahui, the first myeloma patient treated with CAR-T at Jiahui International Hospital was recently discharged two weeks ater infusion.
The foreign patient was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2008. Despite multiple treatments including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, target treatment, and two autologous stem cell transplantations, he relapsed with extramedullary metastasis which caused multiple bone destruction in 2022.
Due to the highly aggressive nature of extramedullary multiple myeloma, previous exposure to more than five lines of treatments, and a possible short remission time, there was a risk of a poor prognosis. This meant that the patient required more effective treatment. Based on current clinical data, the recent emergence of CAR-T therapy provides the best option for high-risk and relapsed multiple myeloma.
CAR-T therapy, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, is a major breakthrough in personalized cellular immunotherapy for cancer. The process involves the collection of the patient's T-cells, after which in vitro genetic engineering modifications of T-cells are made to enhance the T-cells' ability to specifically recognize cancers. These modified T-cells (i.e., CAR-T cells) are then infused back to the patient. The treatment enables the accurate killing of cancer cells and the formation of memory T-cells that fight the cancer in the long term and ensure a more sustainable remission.
Currently, CAR-T therapy has been approved in China for the treatment of refractory/ relapsed lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CAR-T therapy is individualized in nature and involves many key aspects such as patient screening, bridging therapy, adverse reaction management, and long-term follow-up. This requires a highly specialized, experienced, and responsible hematology team as well as a comprehensive multispecialty team. It requires strong collaboration among multispecialty groups including hematology, cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, ICU, experienced nursing teams, etc.
The patient’s relationship with Jiahui started in 2022 when he first came to the hospital and decided to be treated here. He was grateful for his experience at Jiahui, noting that “my entire treatment journey at Jiahui has been smooth throughout. I’ve had really good support from the medical team – from my doctors through to the nursing team. It’s been a good experience”.
The patient, who currently lives and works in Shanghai, made the decision to undergo CAR-T treatment at Jiahui based on the hospital’s international standard of healthcare, the accessibility it provided, the availability of advanced treatment and the respective equipment, and most importantly, the experienced hematology team and the multidisciplinary team collaboration approach at Jiahui International Hospital. He highlighted that “I have been able to work right through the whole treatment. It’s only in the last three weeks that I’ve had to take any time off, so it has been really smooth being able to combine treatment with my working life here.”
He went on to note that “while every patient is different, my side effects were ok and I know Jiahui’s team watched me really closely, so it's been a real bonus during the last few weeks.”
Since the approval and launch of CAR-T therapy in China, Shanghai Jiahui International Cancer Center (JICC) has collaborated with both domestic and international partners to actively establish an international-standard CAR-T treatment platform, share clinical experience, exchange academic progress, and provide blood cancer education to their doctors and nurses.
The CAR-T multidisciplinary treatment team, led by Dr. Vicky LEE, Director of the Jiahui International Cancer Center and Chief of Medical Oncology at JICC, has been doing a series of explorations in the clinical practice of novel concepts and technologies, aiming to bring hope and new treatments to more patients with blood cancers.
