Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pancreatic Cancer Therapy Experiment Saves Woman; Is It A Breakthrough?
The New York Times: Reprogrammed Cells Attack And Tame Pancreatic Cancer In One Woman
Researchers have managed to tame pancreatic cancer in a woman whose cancer was far advanced and after other forms of treatment had failed. The experiment that helped her is complex and highly personalized and is not immediately applicable to most cancer patients. Another pancreatic cancer patient, who received the same treatment, did not respond and died of her disease. Nonetheless, a leading journal — The New England Journal of Medicine — published a report of the study on Wednesday. (Kolata, 6/1)
AP: Novel Genetic Experiment Shrinks Tough-To-Treat Cancer
In a novel experiment, a woman with advanced pancreatic cancer saw her tumors dramatically shrink after researchers in Oregon turbocharged her own immune cells, highlighting a possible new way to someday treat a variety of cancers. Kathy Wilkes isn’t cured but said what’s left of her cancer has shown no sign of growth since the one-time treatment last June. “I knew that regular chemotherapy would not save my life and I was going for the save,” said Wilkes, of Ormond Beach, Florida, who tracked down a scientist thousands of miles away and asked that he attempt the experiment. (Neergaard, 6/1)
KGW8: Portland Doctors 'First In World' To Apply New Cancer Therapy
Doctors at the Providence Cancer Institute (PCI) in Portland are celebrating the successful application of a new immunotherapy to drastically reduce a patient's tumor size. ... With this single-patient success story, Dr. Eric Tran, with Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, and Providence oncologist Dr. Rom Leidner plan to expand trials to treat 24 more patients over the next two to three years. They noted similar efforts have not always been successful. (Ettlin, 6/1)
Also —
Stat: How Companies Are Responding To Cancer Immunotherapy Shortage
The shortage of manufacturing slots for CAR-T cells, which has left myeloma patients dying on a wait list, came as a surprise to drugmakers and clinicians alike. When the Food and Drug Administration approved the first myeloma CAR-T product from Bristol Myers Squibb in spring of 2021, there were already four other lymphoma and leukemia CAR-T therapies on the market. Those weren’t facing severe supply constraints so people hadn’t expected there to be issues supplying ide-cel, Bristol’s myeloma CAR-T, said Yi Lin, the director of the cell therapy program at the Mayo Clinic. But after the approval, the demand quickly overwhelmed Bristol’s ability to create CAR-T for myeloma — and supply chain issues during the pandemic made it more difficult to ramp up production. (Chen, 6/2)
Stat: 'How Do You Decide?' Cancer Patients Die Waiting For CAR-T Therapy
Within two years of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Shawn Goltzene had blasted through nearly all his options. An initial stem cell transplant couldn’t hold off the cancer for more than half a year. With each new therapy his doctors tried, the cancer would surge out of remission within weeks — striking the bones in his back and legs. “We hit him with everything, the whole kitchen sink,” said Krina Patel, the director of the myeloma cell therapy program at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Goltzene’s clinician. She tried putting him on a clinical trial for an immunotherapy drug. “It blew right through him. He quickly got to fourth-line therapy.” (Chen, 6/2)
Austin American-Statesman: Dell Medical School Trying To End Desert In Austin Bladder Cancer Care
Dorothy De La Garza had frequent urinary tract infections. Then she was told she had "an overactive bladder." "Everyone assumes a woman is leaking because she's old," the 78-year-old from Austin said. After years of being on antibiotics on and off, and going to both a urologist and her primary care doctor for the same symptoms, De La Garza was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2016. "Bladder cancer is sneaky," she said. (Villalpando, 5/31)
