Car T Cell Therapy Side Effects

Detailed studies of two potential side effects of an emerging cancer immunotherapy could eventually help make this strategy car t cell therapy safer for patients.

Car t cell therapy side effects. As car t cells multiply they cause massive amounts of chemicals called cytokines to be released into the blood. Severe nausea vomiting diarrhea. Car t cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that s offering hope to some non hodgkin lymphoma patients but the side effects are different from those of other cancer treatments. Car t cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy in which patients t cells are modified to become better at tracking down and destroying tumor cells.

The most common side effects seen are. What are the side effects of car t cell therapy. These normal b cells are also often killed by the infused car t cells. Risks and side effects.

Serious side effects of this release can include very high fevers. Some people have had serious side effects from this treatment especially as the car t cells multiply in the body to fight the cancer. Car t therapy for diffuse large b cell lymphoma can be a lifesaver but it does have its risks. Learn the side effects it may cause and how your doctor will keep them in check.

The studies examined cytokine release syndrome and neurologic toxicities. Severe muscle or joint pain shortness of breath low blood pressure and fast heart rate. Another potential side effect of car t cell therapy an off target effect is a mass die off of b cells known as b cell aplasia. Car t cell therapy side effects.

However side effects of car t cell therapy can be daunting. Nonetheless clinicians are researching how to tame car t cell therapy side effects to lessen the impact on the patient. Cd19 is also expressed on normal b cells which are responsible for producing antibodies that kill pathogens. Car t cells are made by extracting thousands of a patient s t cells sending them to a lab where they re outfitted with genes and proteins that improve their cancer fighting prowess and then re infusing them into the patient.

You won t have hair loss that commonly follows chemotherapy. Ironically some of the adverse events are due to cytokine release that occurs because the patient is having a positive response to therapy.