Seoul Asan Hospital Opens CAR-T Center... Operates Multidisciplinary Clinic

Medical staff at the CAR-T Center of Asan Medical Center in Seoul are discussing treatment directions for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Asan Medical Center Cancer Hospital in Seoul announced on the 17th that it has opened a CAR-T Center specializing in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. Additionally, it has received certification from Novartis to provide Kymriah treatment covered by health insurance and has started clinical services.

CAR-T therapy involves extracting a patient's immune cells (T cells), engineering them to express chimeric antigen receptors that target specific cancer cells, and then infusing them back into the patient to destroy the cancer cells. The treatment targets relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in patients aged 25 or younger, and relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in adults.

Until now, relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had a poor prognosis with an expected survival of only about six months after diagnosis, making treatment very challenging. However, with CAR-T therapy, approximately 80% of pediatric and adolescent patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and about half of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are known to achieve complete remission.

Adult patients are treated by Professors Yoon Deok-hyun and Cho Hyung-woo from the Department of Oncology, and Professors Lee Jeong-hee and Park Han-seung from the Department of Hematology. Pediatric and adolescent patients are managed by Professors Lim Ho-jun, Go Kyung-nam, Kim Hye-ri, and Kang Sung-han from the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology.

Yoon Deok-hyun, Director of the CAR-T Center at Asan Medical Center Cancer Hospital, stated, “Although CAR-T therapy shows very groundbreaking therapeutic effects, side effects can occur. The CAR-T Center at Asan Medical Center Cancer Hospital has established Korea’s first multidisciplinary CAR-T treatment clinic by collaborating with medical staff from the intensive care unit, neurology, infectious diseases, and other departments to detect side effects early and ensure safe treatment through established protocols.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.