It's the fifth most common type of cancer in U.S. adults. For years, traditional therapies to treat 'non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) have included chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell/bone marrow transplant. For the first time, a promising new option will be offered at Nebraska Medicine called Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR T-Cell Therapy). It's a way of taking the patient's own immune system and modifying it to attack the cancer.

"T cells are white blood cells that help our bodies fight infection and cancer," explains Julie Vose, MD, chief of hematology/oncology at Nebraska Medicine. "In lymphoma patients, these cells have gone haywire. They don't fight the cancer properly. This clinical trial will allow us to take the patient's own T cells outside the body and restimulate them to be able to fight their own lymphoma."

From start to finish, the entire process takes about three weeks. During the first phase, the patient's T cells are collected during an outpatient procedure at the hospital. The cells are then sent to a lab in California for processing. In the meantime, the patient receives several days of intense chemotherapy. When the cells return to Omaha, they're placed in a specialized processing center at Nebraska Medicine to complete the procedure. The patient then has their own modified T cells given back to them. A specialized team monitors the patient at the hospital for the next 7-10 days, including frequent blood tests and exams.

"It's a great opportunity for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients who have failed every other therapy," says Dr. Vose. "So far, this clinical trial has only been done in a few patients, but it looks very promising with high response rates."

In the past, CAR T-Cell Therapy has only been offered at a few places, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Nebraska Medicine is one of the first hospitals in the Midwest to offer the clinical trial.

"This type of treatment can't be done at just any hospital or center. It's specialized with respect to what's needed to collect and process the cells," explains Dr. Vose. "We have a very large lymphoma program at Nebraska Medicine, which specializes in research and clinical trials. We're hoping to attract patients from all over the region."

The clinical trial is open to adult patients (19 years and older) with relapsed b-cell lymphomas, which is a subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Because the treatment is extensive, the patient must be in good enough shape. Some of the treatment aspects are paid for by the study. Dr. Vose is looking to attract 5-10 participants over the next year, but will take more if interest is high.

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New Therapy Offered For Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Patients

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