Kymriah
(kim-RY-uh)
A drug used to treat adults with certain types of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and people up to 25 years old with certain types of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Kymriah is made using a patient’s T cells (a type of immune system cell). A gene for a special receptor called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is added to the T cells in the laboratory. These changed T cells called CAR T cells are grown in large numbers in the laboratory and given to the patient by infusion. Kymriah binds to a protein called CD19, which is found on some leukemia and lymphoma cells. This helps the body’s immune system kill cancer cells. Kymriah is a type of CAR T-cell therapy. Also called tisagenlecleucel.
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Enlarge this image in new windowCAR T-cell therapy. A type of treatment in which a patient’s T cells (a type of immune cell) are changed in the laboratory so they will bind to cancer cells and kill them. Blood from a vein in the patient’s arm flows through a tube to an apheresis machine (not shown), which removes the white blood cells, including the T cells, and sends the rest of the blood back to the patient. Then, the gene for a special receptor called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is inserted into the T cells in the laboratory. Millions of the CAR T cells are grown in the laboratory and then given to the patient by infusion. The CAR T cells are able to bind to an antigen on the cancer cells and kill them.