revolutionizing cancer treatment: darren’s journey with car t cell therapy
when darren bessette’s cancer returned two years after he was first diagnosed, immunotherapy gave him a second chance at life
4 minute read
“i’m living a normal life again,” says bessette. “and without car t cell therapy, i wouldn’t be here to tell you about it.” james park
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bristol myers squibb canada
this story was created by content works, postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of a client.
in 2016 at the age of 44, darren bessette of ottawa, ont., was first diagnosed with stage 2 diffuse large b-cell lymphoma (dlbcl), an aggressive form of blood cancer.
“at the time, i was regularly playing hockey and baseball, involved with a band, and working full time,” says bessette, who is married with three daughters — all of whom were teenagers when he was diagnosed. “everything was going great.”
about six months prior to his diagnosis, however, darren began to notice some worrying symptoms. “my wife could actually hear my intestines moving as things were going through, which seemed odd,” he says. “and every once in a while, i’d get a pain. i could feel that something was wrong.”
when his pain worsened, darren went to see a doctor and get it checked out. he was sent for an ultrasound, which proved to be unsettling – the technician asked him to wait while the doctor reviewed the results before he left. “right away, i knew something was going on,” he says.
a battery of tests followed, and darren was ultimately diagnosed with lymphoma. “it was really scary hearing that,” he says. “my head was buzzing trying to understand what was going on, and whether or not i’d even make it.”
dlbcl is the most common and aggressive form of b-cell non-hodgkin lymphoma, a group of blood cancers. it affects immune cells called b lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell, and has a five-year survival rate of 64 per cent.
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in canada, dlbcl affects approximately 20,000 people and occurs most often in older people, with a median age of 66 at diagnosis. the disease typically starts as a quickly growing mass in a lymph node, but it can also originate in various other parts of the body, including the intestines, bones, brain or spinal cord.
darren’s initial treatment was a course of chemotherapy, which went very well for him. “within six months, i was considered to be in remission,” he says. darren went back to work and back to his regular life. unfortunately, dlbcl has the potential to come back with up to 30 per cent of patients experiencing either a relapse or a refractory (treatment-resistant) form of the disease.
“nearly two and a half years later, in 2019, i felt something in my abdomen again,” says darren. sure enough, his cancer had returned. it was the same lymphoma, but a more aggressive form. after several rounds of a different type of chemotherapy proved unsuccessful, darren’s oncologist recommended a clinical trial for chimeric antigen receptor t cell therapy, commonly known as car t cell therapy, an innovative form of immunotherapy that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer.
car t cell therapy: a targeted approach
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“car t cell therapy has been offered as an option for patients for whom second-line treatments haven’t worked or whose disease had returned,” says dr. john kuruvilla, professor of medicine at the university of toronto and a hematologist in the division of medical oncology and hematology at the princess margaret cancer centre in toronto, ont.
“the idea is to try to take advantage of therapies that work with a different mechanism of action,” continues dr. kuruvilla. “chemotherapies are dna-damaging agents which stop cancer cells from multiplying, whereas car t cell therapy represents a different way of treating patients – using a patient’s own immune cells to attack cancer cells.”
immune cells can be part of how the body protects itself against cancer. car t cell therapy works by collecting a specific subtype of immune cell, known as t cells, from a patient and sending them to a lab where they are reprogrammed into car t cells. once this is done, the cells are then capable of recognizing and targeting tumour cells. these modified car t cells should then be able to recognize and kill a lymphoma cell when it encounters it in the body.
once infused, car t cells not only target tumour cells but can also multiply within the patient’s body, enabling ongoing therapeutic activity from a single treatment.
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research indicates that a single infusion of car t cells can achieve significant, long-lasting responses in patients for whom other treatment options have failed.
according to dr. kuruvilla, initial data on the efficacy of car t cell therapy has shown that about 40 per cent of patients who were out of alternative treatment options would go on to see long-lasting benefits. “it was a major step forward when we think about what was available otherwise.”
darren was thrilled to be able to receive this innovative new treatment, especially when his oncologist explained his individual chance of success with car t cell therapy were around 40 to 45 per cent, compared to around 30 per cent with another round of chemotherapy. “it was basically a no-brainer,” he says. “upon hearing about the research and the trial, my wife and i agreed instantaneously that we were in.
“ever since then, it’s been absolutely positive,” he says. “getting car t cell therapy is always going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.” he’s back at work, back to playing hockey and baseball, and back to jamming blues and pop rock with his band. “i’m living a normal life again,” he says. “and without car t cell therapy, i wouldn’t be here to tell you about it.”
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throughout his journey, darren has also become a fundraiser and an advocate for blood cancer patients through the leukemia & lymphoma society of canada. “this diagnosis changed me,” he says. “it made me more grounded and more appreciative of the small things in life. i don’t worry as much about work. i really take time for myself to appreciate all the things around me, to enjoy life, and to take more trips and spend more time with my family.”
this story was created by healthing content works, healthing.ca’s commercial content division, on behalf of bristol myers squibb canada.
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