Manitoba Woman Beats Stage 4 Cancer with Breakthrough CAR T-Cell Therapy

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2024 / Cancer treatments have come a long way over the years, but there is a newer treatment that is providing even stage four cancer patients with a new lease on life.

Source: Pexels
Source: Pexels

The first CAR T-cell therapy was only approved in 2017, but it's already having a significant impact in the cancer treatment market. The latest success story comes from Sandra Hajlo, who just became the first person in Manitoba to be declared cancer-free following CAR T-cell therapy.1

Initially diagnosed with stage four B-cell lymphoma in 2015, Hajlo underwent successful chemotherapy. However, eight years later, her cancer returned, leading to another battle with the disease. After a misdiagnosis of scoliosis, a CT scan revealed her cancer had come back.

Her oncologist recommended CAR T-cell therapy, a new treatment where T-cells are modified to target cancer cells, making her the first recipient of this therapy at CancerCare Manitoba.

Dr. David Szwajcer, Manitoba Blood & Marrow Transplant Director at CancerCare Manitoba, explained that the CAR T-cells are collected, sent to a U.S. facility for modification, and then reintroduced to the patient. Hajlo described the procedure as quick and straightforward, taking only 20 minutes.

After undergoing CAR T-cell therapy in December 2023, Hajlo learned in April 2024 that the treatment was successful, and she is cancer-free once again, expressing her gratitude for the second chance at life.

CAR T-cell therapy does not guarantee survival, with about half of the patients not responding,but it has shown promising results in many cases.

CERo Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ:CERO) is an innovative immunotherapy company seeking to advance the next generation of engineered T cell therapeutics. CERo Therapeutics is unrelated to CancerCare Manitoba and had no role in the CAR T-cell therapy described above. Nevertheless, CERo Therapeutics believes that the success of the CAR T-cell therapy in Manitoba may provide an indication of the potential for its proprietary CER-T (chimeric engulfment receptor) cell therapy.

CAR-T cell treatment has a steep price tag and some potential serious side effects including secondary cancer developing2 as well as cytokine release syndrome (CRS),3 which causes your immune system to go into overdrive and is potentially life threatening. CER-T cell therapy may provide a more cost-effective alternative with fewer side effects.

CERo Advances Innovative Cancer Immunotherapy

CERo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CERO) developed CER-T cells to enhance efficiency and reduce side effects compared to traditional therapies by leveraging the body's natural tumor-fighting mechanisms. CER-T cells achieve this through direct tumor killing and by amplifying the body's anti-tumor immune response, and additionally by presenting cancer cell fragments to other immune cells, drawing these cells to attack the tumor.