What is the process of CAR T cell therapy? Hi everyone, Dr. Joseph Mikhael, Chief Medical Officer of the International Myeloma Foundation.
I'm now going to break down the CAR T cell process in a minute or less. CAR T cell therapy is an amazing new therapy in multiple myeloma where we can engage someone's own immune system and specifically their T cells, which you can think of as soldier cells, to fight their own myeloma.
How does the process work? Well, we collect T cells from a patient much like we collect stem cells when patients are hooked up to a machine that picks off their T cells and gives them the rest of their blood back. We then take the T cells to the lab and in the lab, we manufacture them in such a way that they recognize or have a receptor that is specific to someone's multiple myeloma. We then multiply it in the lab and then a few weeks later we give it back to the patient. And now that we have these active T cells that are dying to go after multiple myeloma, they can circulate through the body and attack the patient's own multiple myeloma.
For more information about multiple myeloma or if you have personal questions related to your own or a loved one's diagnosis, please visit us at Myeloma.org.
