Groundbreaking treatment developed in Edmonton to treat certain blood cancers

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Groundbreaking treatment developed in Edmonton to treat certain blood cancers is expanding in Alberta.

Alberta Health Services has reported promising results among those treated in Edmonton trials for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. In those trials, which began in March 2021, eight of the 10 patients are in long-term remission or saw their cancers significantly diminish.

The therapy being used in Alberta trials was developed by AHS alongside the University of Alberta, an in-house approach that officials say is significantly cheaper than pharmaceutical models. The clinical trials originally ran at Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute, but will expand to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary by the end of the summer.

“We’ll also be looking at this model to address the needs of Western Canadian patients,” said Dr. Michael Chu, the oncologist leading the clinical trials based at the Cross Cancer Institute.

“We expect the CAR T program to continue to grow for the next couple of years, and for more patients to receive this type of therapy.”

CAR T-cell therapy is used in some children and adults with specific types of leukemia where chemotherapy and radiation have stopped working. It works by extracting immune cells known as a T-cell, which are then genetically modified in a lab to fight cancer and multiplied before being returned to the patient’s body.

It can be a costly treatment, with the current commercially available option running at about $400,000 per patient on average. Trials in Alberta are supported by a $15-million investment, which includes $10 million from the provincial government and $5 million from the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

Eighteen patients at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre have already received CAR T-cell therapy, AHS added, with this treatment coming through commercially developed products.

One patient in the Edmonton trial was Don Goss, who decided last fall to enter hospice care after suffering a relapse following two years of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Within a day, he was offered a spot in the trial. He’s now three months cancer-free.

“My world was turned around again. You’re going to die, and now you’ve got a chance,” Goss said. “I’m just overwhelmed at how my life has changed for myself and my family. Now I can see my kids get married.

“I’m getting stronger every day and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to live.”

Health Minister Jason Copping said he hopes the ongoing trials will lead to the therapy becoming more accessible to Albertans.

“Don’s experience is not typical, yet. He’s one of the first patients in Alberta to go through this experimental treatment,” Copping said. “CAR T is not a typical therapy. It was only available in two other provinces until last year, when we announced the launch of the Alberta pilot project. The only other option was travelling to the U.S.”