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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.
To diagnose lymphoma you will need a biopsy. A biopsy is a procedure to remove part, or all of an affected lymph node and/ or a bone marrow sample. The biopsy is then checked by scientists in a laboratory to see if there are changes that help the doctor diagnose lymphoma.
When you have a biopsy, you may have a local or general anaesthetic. This will depend on the type of biopsy and what part of your body it is taken from. There are different types of biopsies and you may need more than one to get the best sample.
Core or fine needle biopsies are taken to remove a sample of swollen lymph node or tumour to check for signs of lymphoma.
Your doctor will usually use a local anaesthetic to numb the area so you don’t feel any pain during the procedure, but you will be awake during this biopsy. They will then put a needle into the swollen lymph node or lump and remove a sample of tissue.
If your swollen lymph node or lump is deep inside your body the biopsy may be done with the help of ultrasound or specialised x-ray (imaging) guidance.
You might have a general anaesthetic for this (which puts you to sleep for a little while). You may also have a few stitches afterwards.
Core needle biopsies take a bigger sample than a fine needle biopsy.
During this procedure, a surgeon will remove the whole lymph node or lump and send it to pathology for testing. You may have a general anaesthetic which will put you to sleep for a little while, so you stay still and feel no pain.
You will have a small wound with a few stitches, and a dressing over the top.
Stitches usually stay in for 7-10 days, but your doctor or nurse will give you instruction on how to care for the dressing, and when to return to have the stitches out.
Excisional node biopsies are more reliable than fine needle or core needle biopsies for diagnosing lymphoma.
Blood tests are taken when trying to diagnose your lymphoma, but also throughout your treatment to make sure your organs are working properly and can cope with our treatment.
Once your doctor gets the results from you blood tests and biopsies they will be able to tell you if you have lymphoma and may also be able to tell you what subtype of lymphoma you have. They will then want to do more tests to stage and grade your lymphoma.
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To understand lymphoma, you need to know a bit about your B-Cell lymphocytes.
B-Cell lymphocytes:
Lymphoma develops when some of your B-cell lymphocytes (B-cells) become cancerous. They grow uncontrollably, are abnormal, and do not die when they should.
When you have lymphoma your cancerous B-cells:
Some lymphomas grow very quickly, which means the cancerous B-cells are multiplying (making new copies of themselves). Other cancerous B-cells may live longer than they should.. B-cells (and many other cells) are designed to live for a purpose. Once they have achieved that purpose, they naturally die to make room for new stronger healthy B-cells.
In some cases, lymphoma develops when the cancerous B-cells just keep living even when they have no purpose. They then take up too much room which can stop your body making new healthy cells.
Please note:
Lymphoma Australia staff are only able to reply to emails sent in English language.
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.