- Each year there are 620,000 new cases of lymphoma worldwide.
- It occurs more frequently in adults than in children and the chances of contracting the disease increase after the age of 50.
- The most common types are Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Cancer remains one of the world’s most serious public health problems. Despite the efforts, it maintains a high incidence that increases every year. But although there is no certain cure, some promising advances have been made. Among the most attractive is the T cell therapybut do you know how it really works?
First of all, it is necessary to talk about lymphomawhich registers 620,000 new cases per year according to the report of the World Cancer Research Fund International 2020. Most importantly, survival rates have improved in recent years and one possible cause would be the development of the T-cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptors.
“Lymphoma, in simple terms, is essentially a cancer of the immune system,” says Madiha Iqbal, MD, a Mayo Clinic hematologist-oncologist.
How does it work?
Newly diagnosed lymphoma patients are offered a combination of chemotherapy and antibody-based treatments. But for those who do not respond to two or more lines of these treatments, the Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy may be an option.
“Prior to the advent of CAR T-cell therapy, patients who had not responded to two lines of chemotherapy had a very poor survival of about six months.”
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy can last a few weeks, as the patient’s T cells, which normally help fight infection, are harvested and genetically engineered to target the lymphoma.
Following a low dose of chemotherapy, the modified cells are infused back into the patient. These cells can then attack and destroy the lymphoma.
“Patients who had a very poor prognosis can now potentially be cured of their disease.”
The most common types of lymphoma
In the first instance there are more than 60 types and only 50 percent of them are curable. It occurs more frequently in adults than in children and the chances of contracting the disease increase after the age of 50. The two main types are:
- Hodgkin’s disease.
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
These two classes of lymphomas are different in how they behave, spread, and respond to treatment, so it’s important to tell them apart. They can usually be distinguished by looking at the cancer cells under a microscope or by using sensitive laboratory tests.
In Mexico, 83 percent of those with lymphoma have the non-Hodgkin variant and the remaining 17 percent, Hodgkin. Of the total, 76 percent are under 65 years of age and 24 percent are older. 42 percent are women and 58 percent men.
Also read:
World Lymphoma Day: Most patients mistake symptoms for flu
This is the most extensive study on lymphomas published in Mexico
Lymphoma is already the eighth leading cause of cancer death in Mexico
