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Summary & Frequently Asked Questions

CAR T-Cell Therapy in Australia: A Quick Recap

CAR T-cell therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses your own immune system to fight some subtypes of B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It was first approved in Australia in 2018 and is publicly funded for eligible patients.

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What is it?
  • CAR T-cell therapy stands for Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy.
  • It uses your own T-cells, collected from your blood. Scientists then add a CAR to the T-cell to help it find and fight lymphoma.
  • These CAR T-cells are returned to your body through an infusion. The process is like a blood transfusion.

It’s used for people whose lymphoma hasn’t responded to other treatments or has come back (relapsed or refractory).

There are currently 3 funded CAR T-cell products in Australia:

  • Yescarta™ for eligible people with Large B-cell and Follicular Lymphoma
  • Tecartus™ for eligible people with Mantle Cell Lymphoma and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)
  • Kymriah™ for eligible children/young adults with ALL and adults with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
  • Treatment is only available at specialist hospitals in some states.
  • You may need to travel and stay near the hospital for up to 8 weeks.
  • Support is available for travel, accommodation, and carer needs within Australia.

CAR T-cell therapy is powerful and can cause side-effects:

  • Mild: Tiredness, nausea, headache, loss of appetite
  • Serious:
    • CRS (Cytokine Release Syndrome): Fever, low blood pressure, breathing problems
    • ICANS: Confusion, speech problems, seizures
    • TLS (Tumour Lysis Syndrome): Kidney strain, muscle cramps, high blood levels of waste products.
  • Some effects may happen weeks or months later, like infections, hormone changes, or low blood counts.

Always call your healthcare team if anything feels wrong. Early action makes a big difference.

CAR T-cell therapy is powerful and can cause side-effects:

  • Mild: Tiredness, nausea, headache, loss of appetite
  • Serious:
    • CRS (Cytokine Release Syndrome): Fever, low blood pressure, breathing problems
    • ICANS: Confusion, speech problems, seizures
    • TLS (Tumour Lysis Syndrome): Kidney strain, muscle cramps, high blood levels of waste products.
  • Some effects may happen weeks or months later, like infections, hormone changes, or low blood counts.

Always call your healthcare team if anything feels wrong. Early action makes a big difference.

  • Clinical trials are testing new targets, earlier use, and more lymphoma subtypes.
  • Some are available in Australia; others may be overseas.
  • Talk to your doctor to see if a clinical trial is right for you or your child.

Need Help or Want to Take Action?

Lymphoma Australia is working hard to expand access across all states.

If your state doesn’t offer CAR T-cell therapy, contact your local MP using our template letter.

You are not alone. For support, clinical trial info, or questions:
Call our nurses on 1800 953 081
Email: nurse@lymphoma.org.au

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Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy
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CAR T-cell therapy in Australia
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The CAR T-cell process
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T-cell Lymphomas & CAR T-cell therapy
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Possible side effects of CAR T-cell therapy
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Clinical Trials
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Support & Resources
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Summary & Frequently Asked Questions
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Patient Support Hotline

General Enquiries

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.

Useful Definitions

  • Refractory: This means the lymphoma does not get better with treatment. The treatment didn’t work as hoped.
  • Relapsed: This means the lymphoma came back after being gone for a while after treatment.
  • 2nd line treatment: This is the second treatment you get if the first one didn’t work (refractory) or if the lymphoma comes back (relapse).
  • 3rd line treatment: This is the third treatment you get if the second one didn’t work or the lymphoma comes back again.
  • Approved: Available in Australia and listed by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA).
  • Funded: Costs are covered for Australian citizens. This means if you have a Medicare card, you shouldn’t have to pay for the treatment.[WO7]

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.