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    • What is cancer?
    • Types of cancer
      • Bowel cancer
      • Blood cancers
      • Breast cancer
      • Lung cancer
      • Melanoma
      • Prostate cancer
      • View 45 other cancers
    • Coping with a diagnosis
      • Coping with emotions
      • Tests and scans
      • Talking to kids about cancer
      • Cancer and your finances
      • Cancer and work
      • Cancer care and your rights
    • Cancer treatment
      • Treatment options
      • Chemotherapy
      • Radiation therapy
      • Surgery
      • Immunotherapy
      • Targeted therapy
      • Hormone therapy
      • Clinical trials
      • Palliative treatment
    • Managing side effects
      • Fatigue
      • Taste and smell changes
      • Hair loss
      • Pain and cancer
      • Peripheral neuropathy
      • Changes in thinking and memory
      • Lymphoedema
      • Mouth health
      • Nutrition and cancer
      • Breast prostheses and reconstruction
      • Fertility
      • Sexuality
    • Supporting someone with cancer
      • Caring for someone with cancer
      • Caring for someone with advanced cancer
      • Family and friends
      • Supportive schools
      • Supportive workplaces
      • Caring for mob with cancer
    • Living well during and after treatment
      • Nutrition and cancer
      • Exercise and cancer
      • Complementary therapies
      • Living well after treatment
    • Advanced cancer
      • Living with advanced cancer
      • Caring for someone with advanced cancer
      • Palliative care
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      • Coping with grief
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      • Resources in different languages
      • Resources for LGBTQI+ people
    • Fact sheets, podcasts and more
      • Cancer resource hub – fact sheets, booklets and more
      • Cancer Council Podcasts
  • Get Support
    Our cancer helpline consultants are ready for your call to support all people impacted by cancer. We may be able to assist with direct support services or by putting you in touch with other people who can support you.
    • 13 11 20 – Speak to a cancer professional
    • How can we help you
      • Accommodation during treatment
      • Cancer Counselling
      • Financial Support
      • Legal & Workplace Support
      • Transport to treatment
      • Support after treatment
    • Connect with others
    • Online community
    • Coping with a diagnosis
      • Coping with emotions
      • Talking to kids about cancer
      • Cancer and your finances
      • Cancer and work
      • Cancer care and your rights
    • Health care professionals
    • Cancer stories
    • Cancer podcasts
    • Meditation and relaxation podcasts
  • Preventing Cancer
    Discover lifestyle choices to minimise your risk of getting cancer and the importance of screening and early detection for cancer survival.
    • Healthy diet and exercise
      • Limit alcohol
      • Be a healthy weight
      • Move more, sit less
      • Healthy Made Tasty
      • Our Kids Our Call
    • Quit smoking and vaping
      • Quit smoking
      • Tackling Tobacco
      • Smoke free environments
      • Electronic cigarettes
      • Generation Vape
    • Sun protection
      • Slip on a shirt
      • Slop on sunscreen
      • Slap on a hat
      • Seek shade
      • Slide on sunglasses
      • SunSmart NSW website
      • Improve your long game
      • Outdoor workers
      • Sporting groups
      • Buy sun protection products online
    • Screening and early detection
      • Cervical screening
      • Bowel cancer screening
      • Breast cancer screening
      • Lung cancer screening
      • Testicular cancer
      • Prostate cancer
      • Ovarian cancer
      • Liver cancer and hepatitis B
      • Check for skin cancer
    • CanAct – campaigning for better policies
    • Cancer Council shops
  • Research
    Research programs save lives, improve treatments and quality of life for cancer survivors.
    • Research we conduct
      • The Daffodil Centre
      • I-PaRCS
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    • Search research by cancer type or topic
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      • Fundraise your way – Do It For Cancer
      • Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea
      • Daffodil Day
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      • Stars Dance for Cancer
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  • Leading accessibility of a revolutionary immunotherapy in NSW

Leading accessibility of a revolutionary immunotherapy in NSW

Professor David Gottlieb
Professor David Gottlieb The University of Sydney $3,750,000 2019-2023

Background

CAR T-cell immunotherapy is one of the most exciting cancer therapies to emerge in recent years. This type of treatment involves taking a patient’s own immune cells, growing them in a highly specialised clinical laboratory, reprogramming them to attack only cancer cells or infections, and then returning them to the patient. Based on successful clinical trials, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently approved CAR T-cell immunotherapy for use in paediatric and young adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and adult patients with a particular type of lymphoma who have failed other treatments, including chemotherapy. This is fantastic news for the approximately 100 patients each year in NSW who are potentially eligible for CAR T-cell immunotherapy.

It is likely CAR T-cells will also benefit patients beyond the initial TGA approvals for use of the therapy. The challenge now is to ensure CAR T-cell immunotherapy is accessible to all patients in NSW who could potentially benefit from this treatment and to fast-track research on expanding CAR T-cell immunotherapy for other cancers.

The research

Up until now, CAR T-cell production in Australia has been on a small scale for use in specific clinical trials. Professor Gottlieb and his team will develop methods for upscaling CAR T-cell production in NSW – accelerating the introduction of this cutting-edge therapy in NSW and making treatment more affordable. The team will also run an education program on how to administer CAR T-cell immunotherapy in major hospitals across NSW to expand access to treatment. For patients who are eligible for CAR T-cell immunotherapy now, this project will be of significant and immediate benefit.

The range of cancers that could potentially be treated with CAR T-cell immunotherapy is growing, with much research activity in this space in Australia and internationally. Professor Gottlieb and his team will build on their knowledge and experience to progress pre-clinical research on the effectiveness of this immunotherapy for the treatment of other cancers including myeloma, myeloid leukaemia, colon cancer, hepatoma, HPV positive oropharyngeal and anogenital cancer and fungal infections in cancer patients.

CAR T-cell therapy is only one of many types of cell therapy that can benefit patients. For cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplants, infection can lead to serious illness or death. Even with treatment, common viral, bacterial or fungal infections can kill because the body’s immune system is weak for up to 12 months after a transplant. As part of this project, Professor Gottlieb and his team will develop a bank of T-cells generated to fight specific infections. These cells can then be used to boost a patient’s immune system reducing duration, complications and suffering caused by infections.

The impact

The work of Professor Gottlieb and his team will translate CAR T-cell and infection specific immunotherapy from research into an accessible treatment option for cancer patients with a leukaemia and lymphoma in NSW. As this revolutionary therapy becomes available for other cancers, the benefit to patients in NSW will continue well into the future.

For patients suffering the consequences of intensive cancer therapies such as reduction in their immune systems, these new treatments will improve their ability to recover from serious infection and enhance their quality of life.

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