Indian doctors eradicated blood cancer in just nine days. Also, for the first time, CAR-T cells were made in the hospital itself and given to the patients. The New Delhi-based Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has announced a major success in cancer treatment, as cancer was not found to be active in 80 percent of the patients even after 15 months.

According to ICMR, this trial shows how cancer can be treated cheaply, quickly, and closer to the patients. India is now becoming a leader in developing indigenous biotherapy, which is also important at the global level. This success has been achieved in a clinical trial of ICMR and CMC Vellore, named Velcarti. The results of this test have been published in the Molecular Therapy Oncology Journal.

According to the details published in the journal, doctors tested CAR-T therapy on patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Both of these are types of blood cancer. In this process, the patient's T-cells (immune cells) are prepared to fight cancer. However, this is not the first study of CAR-T therapy in India. The Immuno Act and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, together developed the first indigenous therapy, which has also received permission from the Center in 2023.

Such results were found in the first trial.
ICMR released the trial results and said that all the patients affected by Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) cancer were cured, while 50% of Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL) patients were cured. Both types of patients were monitored for a long time, during which 80% of the patients remained disease-free even after 15 months. However, in the meantime, mild side effects of therapy have been seen in the patients, but neurotoxicity, i.e., effect on the nervous system, was not found.

40-day record at the global level
Doctors of CMC Vellore said that this process was done through automatic machines in the hospital itself, which took about nine days. Whereas globally, CAR-T therapy takes at least five weeks i.e., 40 days. In the Indian trial, fresh cells of the patient were used, which led to their rapid recovery. He said that India has given birth to a process that is more than 90 percent cheaper.

90 percent of the cost of treatment will be saved

In India, where cancer treatment is expensive and most people do not have insurance. This therapy reduces the cost by 90%. Globally, the cost of CAR-T therapy is US $ 3,80,000-5,26,000 (about Rs 3-4 crore), but the VelcarT model has now opened the way to make it available at a much lower cost. ECMR says that 50 thousand new leukemia patients emerge in India every year.

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