Cancer clinics to offer CAR T-cell therapy outside the hospital setting
Community-based oncology practices launch program in Maryland area
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The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD), a network of community-based oncology practices across Maryland, has launched a program to make CAR T-cell therapies — a cancer treatment using the body’s own cells — available for eligible patients in the state, as well as nearby areas such as Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.
The new program makes the CCBD one of the first community oncology practices to offer CAR T-cell therapy outside of a hospital, the center stated in a press release.
According to the network, “CCBD’s program represents a significant milestone in expanding access to advanced cancer care closer to where patients live and work.”
T-cells are a type of immune cell that are able to act as the body’s assassins, killing off other cells that have become infected with a virus or turned cancerous. CAR T-cell therapy is a novel anticancer strategy that aims to harness the deadly capabilities of these cells to better fight cancer.
With CAR T-cell therapy, T-cells are equipped with a chimeric antigen receptor or CAR, a human-made protein receptor that directs the T-cell to attack a specific target — usually a protein expressed on the surfaces of cancer cells. Several CAR T-cell therapies are now approved in the U.S. to treat various types of blood cancers, including myeloma.
Many more such treatments are in clinical development for a wide range of cancers.
CAR-T cell therapy used to treat myeloma, blood cancers
Most CAR T-cell therapies now in use are autologous, meaning the patient’s own T-cells are collected, taken to a lab to equip them with the CAR, and then infused back into the patient. The process of collecting and administering these therapies is complex, which is why these treatments have to date mainly been administered only at specialty hospitals.
The CCBD noted that it’s long been working to make these novel treatments more easily accessible. This has involved participating in several clinical trials where CAR T-cells were given in an outpatient setting — that is, without requiring hospitalization.
Now, the center is planning to offer this style of CAR T-cell treatment more broadly. The CCBD noted that approved CAR T-cell therapies are generally covered in Maryland by Medicare, the state-funded program that provides health insurance to elderly Americans.
By expanding access to CAR T-cell therapy … we are bringing innovative, life-saving treatments closer to home while helping reduce the burden of care for our patients.
The new program at network clinics will be led by Ralph Boccia, MD, an oncologist and hematologist who serves as the CCBD’s medical director.
“Treating patients with CAR T-cell therapy in a community oncology practice is an important step forward in our mission to provide every patient with access to the highest quality cancer care and the most advanced treatments available,” Boccia said. “By expanding access to CAR T-cell therapy through collaboration with our local community hospital, we are bringing innovative, life-saving treatments closer to home while helping reduce the burden of care for our patients.”
The CCBD is a partner practice of the American Oncology Network (AON), a clinician-led organization that aims to improve cancer care across the U.S.
“Clinical research accelerates access to innovative therapies in the community setting, ensuring more patients can benefit from these advancements in an outpatient setting without needing to travel far from home,” said Katie Goodman, vice president of clinical research at AON.
“The AON research team is looking forward to ongoing collaboration with Dr. Boccia and the CCBD team as AON continues to grow and expand access to CAR-T cell therapy in additional community oncology practices across its network,” Goodman added.
