CAR-T therapy treatment to begin for children

The first children to receive the revolutionary CAR-T therapy treatment for cancer are to begin at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

A highly complex new type of immunotherapy which involves collecting and using the patients’ own immune cells to target their cancer, CAR-T treatment marks the beginning of a new era of personalised medicine, and forms part of the upgrade in cancer services which will be set out shortly NHS’s long term plan. Unlike other forms of treatment, the therapy is specifically developed for each individual patient and has been shown in trials to cure some patients, even those with advanced cancers where other treatments have failed.

Following Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is ready to start treating children with a rare form of leukaemia soon while a third, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is expected to join the programme in December.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “CAR-T shows immense promise, and the NHS is now leading from the front by ensuring patients in England among the first in the world to benefit. As we develop our Long Term Plan for cancer services this is one of the first in what is expected to be a growing number of personalised treatments available for NHS patients.”

Steve Powis, national medical director at NHS England, added: “As with any ground breaking new therapy, CAR-T is not without risk, but it does offer a real advance in our treatment of lymphoma and leukaemia for those who otherwise would have limited options.”