Complete Remission for up to 8 Years! Chinese Innovation in CAR-T Therapy Brings ‘Cure’ Dawn to Late-Stage Cancer Patients!
Two patients with advanced liver cancer, who had multiple treatment failures, relapses, and rapid progression, have achieved complete tumor remission after receiving a new type of immunotherapy! More excitingly, recent follow-ups at a well-known tumor center in Shanghai confirmed that their tumors have been in complete remission for 7 and 8 years, respectively! This means that the CAR-T therapy for solid tumors successfully developed by China has brought these two patients with late-stage liver cancer to clinical “cure”!
The famous CAR-T therapy is almost universally known, its successful development has given people hope for “curing” cancer. The 9 CAR-T therapies currently on the market in China and the United States have an overall remission rate of over 80%. These treatment methods have been proven to induce significant responses in hematological tumors. Meanwhile, scientists around the world are racing to develop CAR-T therapies that can also exert strong anti-cancer effects in solid tumors.
Finally, Chinese researchers have made significant breakthroughs. Recently, an inspiring news article has been trending on major tumor media platforms and cancer circles. The long-term disease-free survival cases of 2 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with the innovative CAR-GPC3 T cell therapy were published in the internationally renowned immunology journal Cancer Communications, causing a huge sensation!
Complete remission for up to 8 years! China has successfully developed the CAR-GPC3 T cell therapy!
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer globally and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. More than half of the incidence and death rates are in China! Especially for patients with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus, the treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor.
In May 2015, a well-known domestic cancer center launched the first clinical study of CAR T cell therapy targeting the GPC3 (Glypican-3) protein for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The data from this study were published in the Clin Cancer Res journal in 2020. More details can be found at: Pride! China develops the world’s first GPC3-targeted CAR-T therapy, successfully saving patients with late-stage cancer.
It is worth mentioning that when the study was initiated in 2015, two patients had inferior vena cava tumor thrombus, and one patient even had retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. Clinically, there was no better treatment plan, and the prognosis was poor. To everyone’s delight, both patients have maintained a tumor-free state during long-term follow-up after receiving local treatment and CAR T cell combined therapy. Recently, the two patients returned to the hospital for a review, and it was confirmed that the tumor had been in complete remission for 7 and 8 years. A celebration was held at the hospital, which was very encouraging!
Patient 1
Complete Remission of Late-stage Liver Cancer After CAR-T Treatment for Up to 8 Years
Mr. A, 50 years old, had a history of hepatitis B cirrhosis. He was diagnosed with stage Ib hepatocellular carcinoma in December 2014. After two rounds of chemotherapy, he underwent microwave ablation as curative treatment in 2015. However, his condition rapidly progressed, and he developed an inferior vena cava tumor thrombus, which was critical. Mr. A refused the systemic chemotherapy treatment plan due to multiple factors. Fortunately, in 2015, the hospital where Mr. A was located launched a clinical trial of CAR-GPC3 T cells, and he was successfully enrolled after assessment. To his and his family’s surprise, the reexamination results six months after treatment showed that the tumor biomarker AFP had returned to normal, and the imaging study showed no signs of a tumor. What is even more gratifying to the doctor is that Mr. A’s recent review results still show complete remission, and he has been cancer-free for up to 8 years (from July 2015 to August 2023), and has returned to normal life.
Patient 2
Tumor Recurrence Puts Life in Jeopardy! CAR-T Therapy Brings New Life
Mr. B, 54 years old, is also a patient with hepatitis B cirrhosis. He was diagnosed with stage Ib hepatocellular carcinoma in 2014. After surgical removal, the tumor recurred at the surgical margin after only 3 months. Mr. B’s disease rapidly progressed after several rounds of interventional and microwave treatments, with multiple lesions in the liver, inferior vena cava tumor thrombus, and retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis. Clinically, there were no better treatment options, and his life was hanging by a thread.
As a last attempt, he enrolled in the CAR-GPC3 T cell clinical trial conducted in China. In just 2 weeksafter the infusion, the tumor biomarker AFP had decreased by more than 90%, and the imaging study showed that all tumor lesions had shrunk significantly. Six months after treatment, Mr. B’s reexamination results showed no signs of a tumor, and the tumor biomarker AFP had returned to normal. Recently, Mr. B’s review results showed complete remission, and he has been tumor-free for up to 7 years (from September 2016 to August 2023), and has returned to normal life.
Figure 1: Two patients with advanced liver cancer achieved complete tumor remission after receiving CAR-GPC3 T cell therapy. The tumors have been in complete remission for 7 and 8 years, respectively.## The Road to a Cure: CAR-GPC3 T Cell TherapyThese two successful cases prove that Chinese scientists have made significant breakthroughs in the application of CAR-T therapy for solid tumors. The GPC3 protein is a highly specific target for hepatocellular carcinoma, and it is found on the surface of nearly 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The CAR-GPC3 T cells can recognize and kill these cancer cells, leading to a significant reduction in tumor size and even complete remission.The road to a “cure” for cancer is long and difficult. This breakthrough in CAR-T therapy for solid tumors not only brings hope to patients with advanced liver cancer but also provides valuable experience and a model for the application of CAR-T therapy in other solid tumors.Although this therapy is still in the clinical trial phase, it has shown great potential. It is expected that with the continuous advancement of technology and the accumulation of clinical data, CAR-T therapy for solid tumors will become a new weapon in the fight against cancer in the future.This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always seek the advice of a healthcare professional for any health issues.## References1. Zhang C, Wang Z, Yang Z, et al. Phase I Escalating-Dose Trial of CAR-T Therapy Targeting CEA+ Metastatic Colorectal Cancers. Mol Ther. 2017;25(5):1248-1258.2. Liu H, Xu Y, Xiang J, et al. Targeting Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP)-MHC Complex with CAR-T Cell Therapy for Liver Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2017;23(2):478-488.3. Ma S, Li X, Wang X, et al. Current Progress in CAR-T Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors. Int J Biol Sci. 2019;15(12):2548-2560.4. Cancer Communications. Long-term disease-free survival cases of 2 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with the innovative CAR-GPC3 T cell therapy. Cancer Comm. 2023.5. Clin Cancer Res. Data from the first clinical study of CAR T cell therapy targeting the GPC3. Clin Cancer Res. 2020.6. Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(3):209-249.