In a groundbreaking move, Apollo Cancer Centres (ACCs) has become the first group of private hospitals in India to complete a CAR-T cell program. This is in addition to the group’s recent announcement that patients aged 15 and up will now have access to “Made in India” CAR-T cell therapy, starting with NexCAR19 (Actalycabtagene autoleucel), for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Dr. Debmalya Bhattacharya, Dr. Anupam Chakrapani, Dr. Sandip Ganguly, Dr. Amit Dutt Dwary, Dr. Rajat Bhattacharya, Dr. Bivas Biswas, and Dr. Puneet Singh graced the occasion to announce this amazing feat.

CAR-T cell treatments, sometimes referred to as “living drugs,” entail the extraction of a patient’s T-cells—a subset of white blood cells that combat cancer—using a procedure called apheresis. These T-cells are subsequently genetically engineered in a controlled laboratory environment using a safe vehicle (viral vector) to produce altered surface connections known as Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs). These CARs are made especially to identify a protein that is overexpressed on some types of cancer cells. After being multiplied to the required dose, they are administered straight to the patient.

The world has taken notice of CAR-T cell therapies due to their unmatched ability to improve patients’ lives who have been diagnosed with difficult B-cell malignancies. Having provided care for more than 25,000 patients globally, this is indeed beneficial.

The effective application of CAR-T cell therapy marks a turning point in the development of cancer care in India. Using this ground-breaking treatment to treat patients demonstrates the promise and effectiveness of this game-changing strategy for treating difficult B-cell malignancies. This accomplishment offers those suffering from cancer fresh hope and opportunities as it marks the beginning of a new chapter in the fight against the disease.

For more details, visit:  https://apollocancercentres.com/

Priyanka Dutta