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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Jackson Ryan

The emerging cancer treatment that’s exciting scientists: ‘We’ve just scratched the surface on what’s possible’

T-cell illustration
In CAR T-cell cancer treatment, T-cells are extracted from patients, genetically engineered to better hunt down cancerous cells, then infused back into the patient – and are able to prevent cancer relapses, in best-case scenarios. Illustration: Nemes Laszlo/Alamy

“Game-changer.” That’s how Prof Misty Jenkins, an immunologist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, describes CAR T-cell therapy, an emerging but still costly cancer treatment that supercharges the body’s immune system to fight disease.

Late last month, Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill put the treatment in the spotlight, revealing his stage three cancer was in remission after undergoing CAR T-cell therapy as part of a clinical trial in Sydney. He stopped short of describing his remission as a miracle – the success, he said, was “science at its best”.

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