CAR T-cell therapy

CAR T-Cell Therapy is a novel immunotherapy programming a patient’s immune system to recognize and fight cancer. During the CAR T-Cell treatment process, T-Cells are drawn from a patient's blood and genetically modified to recognize the patient’s cancer cells when reinfused.

To schedule an appointment, call the Sarah Cannon Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at Methodist Hospital at (210) 575-7800 or the Sarah Cannon Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at Methodist Children's Hospital at (210) 575-2222.

What is CAR T-Cell immunotherapy?

How it works

The process for CAR T-Cell immunotherapy is as follows:

• First, a patient’s white blood cells are collected through a process called apheresis.
• Then, the T-Cells are isolated from other blood cells.
• T-Cells are then modified in a special facility to program them to recognize the cancer cells, what can be thought of as “fighter” T-Cells.
• Lastly, the new “fighter” T-Cells are reinfused into the patient to target and kill the cancer.

CAR T-Cell therapy clinical trials

CAR T-Cell therapy is an exciting new therapy that has been in research trials over the last few years. These types of treatments will be introduced gradually, and are available only at centers where doctors and nurses have been specially trained and meet Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) standards. The Sarah Cannon Transplant and Cellular Program at Methodist Hospital and the Sarah Cannon Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Program at Methodist Children’s Hospital have offered research options since 2015 and currently have other clinical trials open.

A patient’s perspective