Facing cancer is difficult and scary. When treatments don't work, it's even more devastating.
CAR T-cell therapy offers hope when other treatments fail.
CAR T-Cell Therapy at UVA Health
UVA Health offers FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy for adults with aggressive B-cell lymphomas.
This treatment is for people who:
- Don't respond to other treatments
- Have their cancer come back
- Are healthy enough to undergo treatment and deal with possible side effects
We also offer CAR T-cell therapy in other cases through clinical trials.
How Does CAR T-Cell Therapy Work?
A type of cancer immunotherapy, CAR-T supercharges your immune cells to better destroy cancer cells. The therapy happens in 2 phases.
We Modify Your T-Cells
- First, we collect your T-cells.
- We then add to your T-cells. We change them to include a gene with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). The CAR reprograms your T-cells to seek out a particular type of cancer cell and destroy it. This process takes 3-6 weeks.
We Infuse Your Changed T-Cells
- Before you get the new cells, we'll give you some chemotherapy. This helps the new cells work better.
- When ready, we infuse the changed T-cells into your blood.
Within a week, the CAR T-cells multiply to make up 70-90% of the T-cells in your body. The new T-cells seek out and destroy cancer cells.
How CAR T-Cell Is Different
CAR T-cell therapy treats cancer using modified cells in your own blood to destroy specific cancer cells. Learn what sets this innovative therapy apart from other treatments. View Car T-Cell transcript.
Outpatient Option & Recovery
Almost all patients return to normal life within a few weeks.
Children and some adults need to recover in the hospital for 1-2 weeks.
But for select adult patients, we offer CAR T-cell treatment on an outpatient basis. You won't need a hospital stay. You’ll receive treatment during visits to the infusion center at UVA Health’s Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center.
Find out what to expect during infusion.
A Second Chance With CAR T-Cell
When chemotherapy and other treatments failed, Bob's family feared the worst. But CAR T-cell therapy gave him another way to fight his cancer.
Managing Side Effects
Having a high number of active T-cells in your body is risky. You may have side effects.
You could experience:
- Fever, body aches, and fatigue, or cytokine release syndrome (CRS)
- Serious life-threatening symptoms, such as low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and trouble breathing
- Nervous system issues, like tremor, problems talking, confusion, or seizure
We're experts at recognizing and helping manage all side effects from CAR T.
CAR T-Cell Therapy for Kids
Read about CAR T-cell therapy for children.