FDA Approves First CAR T Cells for Cancer

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The FDA has approved a new type of immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. In this approach, scientists genetically engineer a patient’s own immune cells to make a new protein that can latch onto cancer. This turns them into supercharged cancer fighters. Such CAR T cells have shown great promise in beating back some blood cancers that have stopped responding to other therapies. Memorial Sloan Kettering scientists played a pivotal role in developing the science and technology on which the newly approved treatment is based and are available to discuss the science behind the therapy and what this momentous FDA approval means for patients. For more information and to set up interviews, email Caitlin Hool at [email protected].