FDA fast-tracks Nebraska Medicine clinical trial – WOWT

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) -- This week, researchers unveiled encouraging news in the fight against cancer as the FDA fast-tracked a specific type of gene therapy. Nebraska Medicine is one of only a handful of cancer in the country participating in a clinical cancer for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Amy Cheese, a 3rd grade teacher from Colorado stepped away from the classroom last year hoping to find a treatment that would save her life. She had run out of treatment options for her cancer in the blood.

Nothing was shrinking the grapefruit-sized tumor in her chest.

So she came to Omaha where her CAR t-cells would get a science make-over.

It works like this: we all have t-cells to fight infection. But in a cancer patient, they go haywire.

Her cells are sent from Omaha to a California lab to be re-engineered, and returned two weeks later to pinpoint the cancer and destroy it.

We were there in January when Dr. Julie Vose in Oncology revealed whether the therapy was working for Amy.

Dr. Vose: Continuing improvement. Its now 2.7 and that means complete remission. Amy: Oh really. Wow. I have to hug Susan. Susan: Its awesome. Amy: I didnt think it was ever going to happen. Thats what everybody wants to hear. Complete remission.

Successful cases like Amy Cheeses has the FDA expanding the reach of the clinical trials.

About 60% of the patients had a complete remission, said Dr. Vose in an interview with WOWT 6 News this week. Meaning that at the end of the therapy theres no sign of the lymphoma. 3-months after that there was 40% of the patients in complete remission, which may not seem like a lot but these are patients who had failed every other therapy they could possible fail.

Amy Cheese recently had her 6-month check-up. She remains in complete remission.

Doctors believe this breakthrough cancer therapy could one day apply to all cancers. As a big picture, said Dr. Vose, I think it has huge and incredible potential.

With the FDA fast-tracking this method, doctors say more patients will now be a part of a larger clinical trial.

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FDA fast-tracks Nebraska Medicine clinical trial - WOWT