Innovative cancer therapy uses immune system to attack tumours
Adrianna MacPherson - 27 April 2021
U of A clinician and researcher brings CAR T-cell manufacturing to Edmonton.
Imagine if you could re-engineer your immune system to target and attack cancer growing in your body. A new clinical trial led by a clinician researcher at the University of Alberta is doing just that.
Michael Chu, an assistant professor of oncology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is leading a project to manufacture and test locally produced chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma.
CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment that uses a patient’s own immune system to battle cancer cells. It’s a promising alternative to common treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation or surgery, and can be the only viable option for some patients.