The Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, faculty of medicine of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here, already in the forefront of hemato-oncological care, has become the first hospital in Odisha to offer the revolutionary Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T cell (CAR T-cell) therapy to treat blood cancer patients.

This innovative cell and gene therapy harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, Prof. (Dr.) Priyanka Samal, Head of the Department of Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplant, told reporters here on Thursday.

The therapy had been used on a 15-year-old girl from Mayurbhanj district who had responded positively to the treatment and is doing well, she said.

Prof. (Dr.) Samal said unlike traditional chemotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy genetically modifies the patient’s T-cells--- critical cells in the immune system—to recognize and target cancer cells and destroy them.

Explaining the process, she said the patient’s own cells were used, genetically modified and proliferated in a lab and then re-infused into the patient’s body. These enhanced cells then seek out and destroy the cancer cells with precision. “This form of therapy has shown remarkable success globally, especially for patients who did not respond to conventional treatment and bone marrow transplant (BMT), and now holds promise for patients in India,” Prof. (Dr.) Samal said.

The CAR T-cell therapy has been pioneered indigenously by IIT-Bombay in collaboration with the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and the product, known as NexCAR19, has been developed by ImmunoACT in India making it affordable for patients, she said.

The approval of the NexCAR19 therapy a year ago by the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) marked a historic milestone in Indian healthcare making this therapy more accessible to Indian patients without the need to travel abroad for treatment, Prof. (Dr.) Samal said.

Prof. (Dr.) Pusparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, who was present in the media conference, said this was the first successful case of CAR T-cell therapy treatment to be taken up in the entire eastern India post marketing of the product. “The IMS and SUM Hospital has remained ahead of others in embracing new treatment regimes and technology,” he said adding it had conducted more than 70 cases of BMT and more than 150 cases of Robotic knee surgery till now.

Prof. (Dr.) Girija Nandini Kanungo, Head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Dr. Santosh Kumar Singh, Associate Professor and in-charge of the Hematology ICU, were present.

Prof. (Dr.) Samal said “we are incredibly excited to treat the first patient in Odisha using this ground breaking therapy.”

She said SOA Founder President Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak had extended his full support for implementation of this new innovative treatment option for the patients.

“CAR T-cell therapy represents the future of cancer treatment, providing new hope to patients with B-cell hematological malignancies who may not have other viable treatment options,” she said adding “we at IMS and SUM Hospital are committed to staying at the cutting edge of medical science offering our patients the best and advanced treatment options.”

With the launch of NexCAR19, IMS and SUM Hospital was poised to serve a wide range of patients not only from Odisha but from across eastern India. The introduction of this therapy in the hospital was part of a broader mission to make advanced medical treatment more accessible to patients, Prof. (Dr.) Samal said.