1.2 million yuan a shot of anti-cancer "magic drug" for the first time in Southwest China
■ On November 24, a reporter from Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News learned from Sichuan Cancer Hospital that the hospital recently implemented CAR-T cell therapy for a cancer patient.
Previously, this anti-cancer "magic drug" of 1.2 million yuan per injection caused heated discussion on the Internet, and this treatment is the first time the treatment has been implemented in the Southwest.
■ CAR-T cell immunotherapy is a type of immunotherapy, and its unique mechanism of action has brought tremendous changes to tumor treatment and promoted the progress of tumor treatment.
A
The patient was discharged smoothly after treatment
Maintain close contact with the treatment team
Recently, in the Medical Oncology Ward of Sichuan Cancer Hospital, Dean Lin Tongyu was explaining to 57-year-old Ms. Peng and her husband the precautions for discharge: "This treatment is very effective, but it should not be taken lightly after discharge. Regular review should be done. If you feel uncomfortable, call me immediately."
What happened behind this patient that made Professor Lin Tongyu so concerned?
Because she is the first clinical patient in the first batch of CAR-T cell therapy in Sichuan Cancer Hospital, and the first case in the entire southwestern region.
Patient Ms. Peng, a native of Guangzhou, developed edema with no obvious cause in December 2019.
He was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in Guangzhou in January 2020.
The first round of treatment was completed in June 2020, but the disease recurred at the end of that year, bone marrow infiltration, liver and spleen invasion, and secondary hypersplenism.
Later, Ms. Peng moved to Beijing and other cities, and finally found Professor Lin Tongyu.
Professor Lin carefully understood Ms. Peng's illness and treatment process, checked her medical records and examination reports in detail, convened related disciplines for MDT consultation, and then formulated a local treatment plan for her.
After several months of treatment, Ms. Peng's condition has improved significantly.
In August 2021, Ms. Peng came to Sichuan Cancer Hospital to continue hospitalization.
In September, Ms. Peng underwent a bone marrow reexamination, and the results showed that bone marrow aspiration smear, bone marrow biopsy and flow cytometry showed no definite tumor invasion. The curative effect was evaluated as complete remission.
At this time, when the CAR-T product was on the market, after a comprehensive assessment of the patient's condition, Professor Lin thought that Ms. Peng was suitable for CAR-T cell therapy, so he conducted a comprehensive introduction and communication with her and her family.
According to the CAR-T cell treatment process, Ms. Peng successively received treatments such as apheresis, pretreatment, and reinfusion of CAR-T cells.
After two weeks of close monitoring and nursing in the hospital, he was finally discharged from the hospital in the near future, and there was no cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity (ICANS) during the hospitalization.
Currently in the stage of out-of-hospital follow-up, Professor Lin's treatment team keeps in close contact with Ms. Peng at any time to guide her follow-up and treatment of adverse reactions.
B
1.2 million yuan a needle expert predicts that the price will be gradually reduced
CAR-T cell immunotherapy is a type of immunotherapy, and its unique mechanism of action has brought tremendous changes in tumor treatment and promoted the progress of tumor treatment.
Since the US FDA approved CAR-T in 2017, CAR-T has been used for relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), and relapsed or refractory sets Lymphoid hematopoietic tumors such as cellular lymphoma (MCL) and relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
This year, China's CAR-T cell therapy products have also been approved for marketing.
Emily, the world's first child leukemia patient who received CAR-T treatment, is still healthy and has not relapsed until 9 years later. Her disease has actually reached the standard of cure.
Although all sectors of society have eager expectations for the price reduction of CAR-T, as a well-known expert in the industry, Professor Zhou Jianfeng from Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology believes: "From the earliest molecular targeted drugs to the latest PD-1, any kind of innovation The therapies were very expensive when they were first born.” Previously, Professor Zhou Jianfeng’s team completed the first domestic CAR-T tumor treatment.
There are many reasons for this, one of which lies in the high R&D costs of enterprises.
At present, the cost of clinical trials conducted by domestic sponsors is about 1.5 million to 2 million yuan per patient; coupled with the initial investment in patent research and development, the intellectual property costs of drugs are very high.
On the other hand, CAR-T is different from previous anticancer drugs. "It is a kind of'living' drug." Professor Zhou Jianfeng specifically pointed out, "The entire production process includes 38 steps, and the production cost itself is also very high." He also predicted that with the advancement of technology and technology, the price of so-called "sky-priced anti-cancer drugs" will gradually drop, "but we have to go through a painful process and it will take time."
For ordinary patients, how can they afford such a high cost of medicine?
According to Professor Zhou Jianfeng, major domestic hospitals are currently carrying out clinical trials of a number of related drugs and open recruitment of patients. Eligible patients have the opportunity to apply for these clinical trial therapies for free, and they can also obtain considerable therapeutic effects.
This time, Professor Lin Tongyu’s patients received CAR-T treatment and were discharged from the hospital, which means that Sichuan Cancer Hospital, as the first batch of hospitals in China to issue CAR-T clinical prescriptions, has taken the lead in developing CAR-T cell therapy in the country. , Applying CAR-T therapy to clinical treatment in Southwest China.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Wang Tuo comprehensive report