Minister Audrey Gordon speaks at a news conference on Monday, July 19, 2021. (MANITOBA GOVERNMENT / YOUTUBE)
WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is spending $6.6 million on a specialized cancer therapy program at CancerCare Manitoba.
The investment will see new care options made available for people with specific cancers that have not responded well to more conventional treatments.
The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell cancer therapy program provides personalized immunotherapy for people with blood or lymphatic cancers like lymphoma. The province says the specialized therapy harnesses the patient’s immune system to find and attack cancer cells.
“This is a relatively new area of life-saving cancer therapy and we are pleased to support CancerCare to bring it to Manitoba,” said Health Minister Audrey Gordon.
“The ability to receive this specialized care close to home, as well as a person’s health-care team and other support systems are incredibly important. Strengthening how we care for patients right here in Manitoba is a significant priority for our government.”
Once the CAR-T therapy program is established, it will initially be available to two groups of patients: people aged 25 or younger, including children, with acute leukemia, and people aged 18 and older with aggressive lymphoma, if other therapies haven’t worked.
Manitoba currently sends a few people with these types of cancers for CAR-T therapy at health-care facilities outside of the province every year.
