New cancer treatment to be offered for some Alberta patients

CALGARY -

A new individualized cancer treatment is on its way to Foothills Hospital, one of just a handful of facilities in the country to make it available.

The Car T-cell therapy takes white blood cells from the cancer patient's body and then modifies the T-cells to identify and attack the cancer in their body. It's individualized and targeted medicine that could give certain cancer patients a few more years of life.

"Many patients who may otherwise die from their disease to enjoy remissions and they can also last quite some time," says Dr. Mona Shafey, Director for the Alberta Blood Marrow Transplant Program. "We're actually talking a couple of years or more."

The new therapy is used for Mantle Cell Lymphoma, an aggressive and fast growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It primarily affects men around age 60 and is usually not detected until it has reached stage three or four.

The therapy was approved in the U.S. last year and by Health Canada earlier this year. In Alberta one patient will receive the therapy starting later in November on an emergency basis. Negotiations with Alberta Health to approve funding for the treatment are ongoing say doctors.

If approved, the expensive therapy is expected to help 10 to 15 people each year.