CAR-T cell therapy is also effective to treat cancer in Black and Hispanic patients

June 3, 2022

Chimeric antigen -receptor (CAR) - T cell therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment for the patients with advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas and leukemia who have not responded to multiple treatments.

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CAR-T cell therapy is an immunotherapy which uses white blood cells called killer T cells isolated from a patient's blood.  These T cells are genetically engineered to have a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) which recognizes a specific signature on cancer cells and kills cancer cells.  Some patients who are treated with CAR-T cell therapy show no sign of disease for a long period of time.

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The same drug can have different efficacy and side effects in the patients with different racial and ethnic groups.  It is important for clinical trial participants to represent the diversity of the general population in order to evaluate a drug accurately.  Unfortunately, the initial clinical trials which proved the efficacy of CAR-T cells included few Black and Hispanic patients, and thus there was lack of data confirming the efficacy and safety in them. 

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Recently, a group of investigators at Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center published the study results confirming that CAR-T cell therapy is also effective in black and Hispanic cancer patients and that the side effects from the treatment are similar to what were seen in White and Asian cancer patients (1).  The study gave us confidence that the revolutionary CAR-T cell therapy will equally benefit Black and Hispanic patients. 

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Historically, most clinical trial participants have been white males, whereas women and especially racial and ethnic minorities have been underrepresented.  There are many reasons for low clinical trial participation of racial and ethnic minorities, but distrust of clinical trials and medical institutes as well as financial burdens are some of the barriers. 

MJ Cancer Patient Advocate, LLC is dedicated to help racial ethnic minorities, people with low income and seniors who are diagnosed with cancer by educating about their diagnosis and treatment and clinical trial options.  In addition, we support cancer patients with financial hardship by raising funds which will allow them to participate in clinical trials for their cancers.

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For more information, please contact us at minji@mjpatientadvocate.com.

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Resources

1. Thakkar A., et al., Efficacy and safety of CAR-T cell therapy in minorities. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2022 Apr 28. doi: 10.1038/s41409-022-01670-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35484206.