Session Date:
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
4:00 – 5:00 pm EDT
Session Description:
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy (CAR-T), is a promising and innovative treatment option for some lymphoma patients in Canada, harnessing the patient’s own immune system to treat cancer. It is a type of immunotherapy that improves the effectiveness of a patient’s T-cells, a type of cell in your body that plays a central role in the immune response. These T-Cells then recognize the specific cancer cells in your body to attack and destroy them. Currently, CAR-T therapy is approved for treatment in Canada for relapsed/refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) and for Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL), however, public funding is only granted for the DLBCL patient population.
Inequitable access is a major barrier to receiving CAR-T treatment in Canada. Along with Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta, Nova Scotia is now the fourth province to be able to offer CAR-T therapy within its provincial borders. Patients are now able to receive CAR T-cell therapy at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax Nova Scotia.
To learn more about CAR T-cell therapy in Nova Scotia, Dr. Mahmoud Elsawy, the lead clinical investigator of the CAR-T program in Nova Scotia, will provide specific information on CAR-T access and experience within this province.
Speaker:
Dr. Mahmoud Elsawy, MB BCh, MSc
Hematologist, QEII Health Sciences Centre
Speaker Biography:
