The Living Medicine Kymriah CAR-T Cell Therapy Receives FDA Approval for Lymphoma

Regarded as a revolutionary treatment, particularly for hematological cancers arising in blood and bone marrow, CAR-T cell therapies are becoming more prominent in clinical practice. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Novartis’ CAR-T therapy Kymriah for adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) relapsing after 2 or more systemic therapies, advanced B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma.

Previously, in August 2017, Kymriah was approved for patients up to age 25 with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemiathat had relapsed twice or more, by the FDA . Kymriah was the first CAR-T cell therapy approved for cancer. It can now be used for two diseases: non-Hodgkin lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

• What Is Lymphoma? Symptoms and Treatment

What Does This Approval Mean for Us?

• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Treatment options are limited for patients who relapse or do not respond initially. Kymriah may provide effective treatment without stem cell transplantation .
• Kymriah is an individualized cellular therapy made using the patient’s T cells. CAR-T therapies have become more effective and safer with CRISPR technology .
• Kymriah can cause cytokine release syndrome and neurological toxicity. It can therefore only be administered at authorized, certified centers.
• The most effective cancer treatments come from genetic and immune system-based approaches. Modern medicine, drawing on different scientific disciplines, is treating cancer more powerfully every day.