Doug Olson was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010. Doctors used an experimental gene therapy to transform some of his blood cells into anti-cancer drugs. His body is still healthy ten years later.
According to University of Pennsylvania doctors who claimed that Olson was cured and another patient was also cured, this therapy was new in the field of medicine.
“I’m doing great right now. I am still very active. Olson, 75, a Pleasanton resident, said that he ran half-marathons up to 2018. This is a cure. They don’t take the word lightly.”
The two cases were described by his doctors in a Wednesday Nature study. The doctors say that the treatment called CAR–T cell therapy can be used to attack cancer right away, stay inside the body for many years, and then evolve to fight the disease. These so-called “living medicines” can be used to treat certain types of blood cancers by thousands worldwide.
Dr. Carl June, one the authors of this study, stated that the 10-year-old results “now allow us to conclude that CAR–T cells can cure leukemia patients.”
One-time treatment consists of taking the patient’s T cells, which are white blood cells that are key to the immune system and genetically altering them in the laboratory so they can attack and find cancer cells. The patient receives the modified cells via IV.
Olson had been fighting cancer for many years by the time he received the treatment. He said that he thought he had only months left when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic Leukemia in 1996.
After undergoing chemotherapy, Porter was advised by Dr. David Porter that he might need a bone-marrow transplant. Porter suggested that he join a CAR–T therapy study. Olson, the CEO of a New Hampshire laboratory products company, stated that he was enthusiastic about the science and wanted to avoid the transplant.
He felt sick for about one week after the treatment and was admitted to hospital for three days.
Olson said that he had spoken to him the week after I was seated and told me, “We can’t find one cancer cell in your body.”
Retired corrections officer Bill Ludwig had similar results.
Researchers believe that the cells modified over time evolved into cells that can work with cancer-killing cells. Both patients eventually developed dominant cells from the helper cells.
J. Joseph Melenhorst, study author, said that they were able isolate cells and analyze them using new technologies. This gave them “very good insights” into the patient’s bodies.
Washington University in St. Louis’ Dr. Armin Gobadi, an expert on gene and cellular immunotherapy for the treatment of cancer, described the findings as “incredible.” He said that it appeared these patients were most likely to be cured.
He was fascinated by the persistence of CAR-T cells, and how the drug evolves.
Ghobadi, who wasn’t involved in the study, said that “that’s just really beautiful.”
June stated that CAR-T cells therapies are currently being used for certain blood cancers in tens of thousands. They have been approved by various health authorities worldwide, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In 2017, the agency approved the CAR–T therapy treatment for childhood leukemia. It was developed by Penn and Novartis.
The Nature study was partially funded by the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, and partly by National Institutes of Health grants.
CAR-T therapies could be used more often in the future to treat other types of cancer, scientists hope. A CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma was approved last year. This is the most common bone marrow malignancy in adults. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are expected to account for just 10% of the nearly 1.9 million new cases of cancer in the U.S.
June stated that the biggest scientific challenge, and it is a huge one, is how to make solid cancers work. She cited examples from the colon, lung and other areas.
There are many challenges even in the case of blood cancers. The cost of the therapies can run into the hundreds of thousands just for the drugs. There are significant side effects that can occur, such as an immune reaction called “cytokine syndrome” or problems with the nervous system like brain swelling.
Both Penn patients were extremely happy with their treatment. Ludwig traveled across the country with his wife, Alice, in a motorhome. They celebrated many family milestones and he died early last year from COVID-19 complications.
Olson expressed his gratitude for the ten years of life that he had since doctors used cutting-edge science and saved him.
“What has changed is the dimension and hope. He said, “The pace of discovery takes you breath away.” It’s a new world.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education provides support to the Associated Press Health and Science Department. All content is the sole responsibility of the Associated Press.
