Newswise — Dallas, Texas (April 12, 2018) – Baylor University Medical Center, a part of Baylor Scott & White Health, and Texas Oncology today announced they are now offering CAR-T cancer therapy to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). These providers are working together and are among the first in the nation to treat patients with the only CAR-T cell therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat this form of cancer.
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell therapy, or CAR-T, is a personalized therapy where a patient’s own immune cells are removed from the patient’s body, genetically reprogrammed, then infused back into the patient to identify and attack their cancer as a one-time treatment. The CAR-T therapy offered at Baylor University Medical Center reprograms the patient’s cells to attack DLBCL, which is the most common and aggressive form of lymphoma that accounts for 25 to 30 percent of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases in the United States. It is used to treat adult patients who have not responded or who have relapsed after two other kinds of treatment.
“This could be a game-changing treatment for patients whose cancer has not responded to other treatment options,” said Yair Levy, MD, medical oncologist at Texas Oncology and medical director of hematologic malignancy clinical research at Baylor University Medical Center. “It is an important advancement in cancer care to bring this next-generation treatment to North Texas that has shown promising results in treating patients with large B-cell lymphoma during both clinical trials and active treatments to date.”
Baylor University Medical Center is the only center in North Texas and the second facility in the state to provide this ground-breaking therapy commercially for this form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The therapy, known as Yescarta, is the only CAR-T therapy for DLBCL currently approved by the FDA and is manufactured by Kite, a Gilead Sciences, Inc. company. A multidisciplinary selection committee will help guide the process for determining eligible patients for this new therapy, which takes into consideration clinical testing based on past clinical trial criteria and FDA guidelines.
While there is only one FDA approved CAR-T therapy offered at Baylor Scott & White Health, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Texas Oncology are currently conducting clinical trials to test CAR-T therapies for three additional forms of cancer. More information about other CAR-T studies underway can be found at BSWHealth.com/DallasCancer and TexasOncology.com/CAR-T-Therapy.
“This is a completely different way of treating cancer and early results have shown it to be one of the most potent therapies ever tested for these patients,” said Houston Holmes, MD, medical director and principal investigator for CAR-T clinical trials at Texas Oncology and oncologist on the medical staff at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center.
To refer a patient for CAR-T consultation call 214.370.1999. To learn more about CAR-T clinical trials, call 214.820.3535.
About Baylor Scott & White Health Formed from the 2013 merger between Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare, the system referred to as Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. With total assets of $11.1 billion* and serving a population larger than the state of Georgia, Baylor Scott & White Health has the vision and resources to provide its patients continued quality care while creating a model system for a dramatically changing health care environment. The system now includes 50 hospitals, nearly 1,000 access points, 7,800 active physicians, and 48,000 employees, plus the Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance — a network of clinical providers and facilities focused on improving quality, managing the health of patient populations, and reducing the overall cost of care. For more information visit:
* based on audited 2017 fiscal year statements
About Texas Oncology
As an independent oncology practice with more than 420 physicians and 175 locations, Texas Oncology’s community-based care offers patients high-quality cancer care without compromise, including access to leading-edge technology, advanced treatment options, and access to clinical trials. As a primary participant in US Oncology Research, Texas Oncology played a role in more than 70 FDA-approved therapies, about one-third of all cancer therapies approved by the agency to date. Texas Center for Proton Therapy, Texas Breast Specialists, and Texas Center for Interventional Surgery are part of Texas Oncology. Texas Oncology is a member of The US Oncology Network, one of the nation’s largest community-based cancer treatment and research networks.
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