War in the Blood, a film about CAR T-cell therapy
These clinical trials are testing new treatments that "reprogram" the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells, providing a more effective and less toxic way to treat cancer.
Together, UCLH and UCLL are leading CAR's largest portfolio of CAR T-cell studies in Europe with support from the National Research Institute for Health Research (NIHR), University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Research Center Biomedical Research (BRC) and the funding of several partners, including Bloodwise, the charity for blood cancers and the EU's 7th Framework Program.
Dr. Martin Pule (UCL Cancer Institute), who leads the UCL CAR T-Cell program and whose work is at the heart of the BBC film "War in the Blood", said: "Lymphocyte therapy T CAR can result in long-lasting remissions in blood cancer patients who have failed all standard treatments.CAR T-cell therapy is a revolutionary new approach to cancer treatment. "
Treatments that use the immune system to fight cancer are different from conventional treatments. Our immune system can be much more selective in the discrimination between normal and cancer cells, which means that many of the common side effects of conventional therapies are avoided. In addition, immune responses can last for many years and prevent relapses.
Most clinical trials of BRC-supported immunotherapy focus on the use of an immune cell called a T cell to attack cancer. This cell can be imagined as a miniature robot that moves around our body, looking for infected cells and kills them. However, T cells do not recognize most cancers, since cancers develop from our own tissues and appear normal to most T cells. The main challenge of T-cell immunotherapy approaches is to find ways to to direct the T cells towards the cancer cells.
CAR T cell therapy directs T cells to attack cancer cells by removing T cells from the blood and manipulating them externally to reprogram the cells to kill the cancer cells. Once infused into the patient, these CAR T-cells act as miniature robots and find and destroy the cancer cells.
BRC's director, Professor Bryan Williams, said the center had supported the team from the start. He said, "We supported this work because we could see the potential it could generate new cancer treatments that could save lives." It's really remarkable to see how fast this has happened. is an example of action research in the NHS at its best. "
The BBC's intimate documentary film follows two patients throughout their treatment and doctors struggling to save their lives. Filmed for two years at University College Hospital and UCL, this 100-minute film by Arthur Cary is a powerful testimony to the contribution of terminally ill patients to the world of clinical research.
Not allowed to meet and separated by two floors of a hospital, Graham, 53, and Mahmoud, 18, are nevertheless bound by their commitment to treatment and their faith in science. In the terminal phase, testing is their only option. How do their age and life experiences affect their physical and emotional response?
For scientists and clinicians working on the development of this treatment, the responsibility for designing and testing new treatments in patients is both challenging and daunting. At the heart of this film is the complex relationship between the scientists who develop these treatments, the clinical team that tests them, and the patients who receive the experimental therapies.
The documentary is uncompromising and does not fear the experiences of terminally ill cancer patients and the complex motivations that underlie participation in an experimental clinical study.
Dr. Claire Roddie, hematologist consultant at UCLH (also UCLH Cancer Institute) said: "CAR T-cell therapy is a form of personalized treatment for patients who do not respond to standard cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and it has been shown in clinical trials that it cures some cancer patients, even those with advanced cancers.Most of the treatments used in patients with terminal cancer prolong the life of a few months. For a good proportion of patients, CAR T-cells can heal, which is unprecedented. "
CAR's T-cell therapy has so far shown the most promise for hematological (blood) cancers, and Professor Emma Morris (UCL Division of Infection and Immunity) says the therapy represents "a real a change in the way we treat cancers, a leap forward in medical therapies, from the use of small chemical molecules or proteins to the use of cells, the complexity of cells means they can be designed in a very ingenious way, which leads to treatments whose specificity and activity are unimaginable in conventional treatments ".
UCLH is eagerly awaiting the opening of the Sir Naim Dangoor Center for Cellular Immunotherapy in 2020. It will be an eight-bed unit at UCLH in a new surgical and oncology building made possible by a generous donation of £ 1.6 million from the Exilarch's Foundation, and will build on the world-renowned expertise and groundbreaking progress made at UCLH to successfully treat cancer through cellular immunotherapy.
At UCLH, Professor Karl Peggs has set up the clinical translation component of the CAR T-cell academic program and is currently working on the creation of the first European center dedicated to research and treatment in cellular immunotherapy.
The creation of this center will allow UCLH to focus its research on the progress of cellular immunotherapies. As Professor Peggs puts it: "Although the clinical application of cellular immunotherapy research in the area of blood cancers has already yielded positive results, further research is absolutely necessary. treatments for other types of cancer - such as skin, ovarian, liver, and lung cancers - which means higher cancer survival rates, a very exciting development that could change the game in cancer treatment. "
