Read more
While all 3 products use your own T-cells, different pharmaceutical companies have manufactured CARs (chimeric antigen receptors) to alter your T-cells. An overview of the different CAR T-cell products available in Australia is below.
Yescarta™ is a product made by Gilead.
Who can have it?
Yescarta is approved and funded for:
*Not suitable for people with Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL).
Tecartus™ is a product made by Gilead.
Who can have it?
Kymriah™ is a product made by Novartis.
*Not suitable for people with Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL).
CAR T-cell therapy is a special type of treatment that can only be given in hospitals with trained staff and the right equipment. These hospitals must show they can keep you safe while you get this treatment.
Because of this, CAR T-cell therapy is not available in every state or territory in Australia. The table below shows which hospitals offer this treatment.
If you don’t live near one of these hospitals, you might need to travel to another state. There is help available to pay for travel and accommodation, and you will need to plan to be away from home for about 2 months.
Some hospitals not listed above may provide CAR T-cell treatment as part of a clinical trial. Ask your doctor if it is available where you are having treatment.
Lymphoma Australia regularly advocates for lymphoma patients to have access to the best approved treatments and clinical trials, regardless of where in Australia you live. Our advocacy has helped to get medicine listed on the PBS to make it cheaper and have different treatments approved for more people with lymphoma.
We are currently advocating for more access to CAR T-cell therapy. Recently, our CEO was even interviewed on ABC radio talking about this. To hear the interview click here Lymphoma Australia CAR T-Cell Therapy – Why Some Australians Still Miss Out
However, we also need your help. If you live in a state where CAR T-cell therapy is not yet available, we ask that you contact your Members of Parliament (MPs) and ask them to make access to CAR T-cell therapy a priority in your state or territory.
You can find the list of MPs in Australia by clicking the link below.
We have written a template letter you can download, print or copy into an email. You can use this as a guide to write your own letter, or use this template as is – Just make sure to fill in the items in red to make it relevant to your state.
There are extra things to consider when planning for CAR T-cell therapy when you live in Rural and Remote Australia.
Watch our recording with Dr Allison Barraclough and Dr Safia Belbachir as they discuss how you can access this treatment, and what you need to consider.
Please note: Lymphoma Australia staff are only able to reply to emails sent in English language.
For people living in Australia, we can offer a phone translation service. Have your nurse or English speaking relative call us to arrange this.
You need healthy T-cells to make CAR T-cells. For this reason, CAR T-cell therapy cannot be used if you have a T-cell lymphoma – yet.
For more information on CAR T-cells and T-cell lymphoma click here.
Special Note: Although your T-cells are removed from your blood for CAR T-cell therapy, most of our T-cells live outside of our blood – in our lymph nodes, thymus, spleen and other organs.