StemCell Therapy

Erlanger hopes to bring the treatment to the patients who need it most within the next few years . (Coutesy: WTVC)

Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for a ground breaking cancer treatment in the United States.

It's a gene therapy treatment named CAR-T therapy.

Dr. Meghann McManus is a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist at Erlanger in Chattanooga.

On Thursday, Dr. McManus described the treatment as the "first gene therapy treatment for any type of cancer in the pediatric world or adult world."

In layman's terms, Dr. McManus said the treatment allows doctors to remove a patients "T-cells, which are a type of white blood cell," send them to a lab "where their genetically modified to fight their certain type of leukemia."

"It uses the patients own immune system, their own cells from their own body, to fight their leukemia. Which is not something that we do with any other disease," Dr. McManus said.

At this time, Dr. McManus said CAR-T therapy is approved for "children that have relapsed or with refractory disease."

"We may not be able to stop cancers from happening... but if we could treat it in a way to get rid of the cancer without big side effects or tolls on patients, it would change the way we do our job," Dr. McManus said.

Read more from the original source:
Local pediatric oncologist hopeful new gene therapy will save lives - WTVC

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