KMCH Pioneers CAR-T Cell Therapy in Tamil Nadu, Offering New Hope for Cancer Patients

Coimbatore: KMCH, a leading multispecialty hospital and the pioneer and leader in introducing cutting-edge medical technologies for the benefit of patients, has now joined a select league of hospitals in India to offer indigenously developed CAR-T Cell Therapy for cancer patients.

The innovative therapy that requires significant clinical and technical expertise- available only in a few countries and select hospitals in India - is now available at KMCH Comprehensive Cancer Care Center. The hospital has successfully performed three therapies, the highest in Tamil Nadu.

Our body’s immune cells have remarkable ability to destroy cancer cells which are formed inadvertently. In patients who develop cancer, cancer cells have tricked immune cell into thinking that they are healthy cells and are unable to destroy them.

For many decades, the pillars of cancer treatment have been Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy and more recently Targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Over the past decade, the focus in now on Immune modulating therapies, that strengthen the patient’s immune system to attack cancer cells.

Many experts now call immunotherapy as the fifth pillar of cancer treatment, since they have the ability to shrink and eradicate tumour even in advanced stages. Initial success of immunotherapies was achieved by using immune checkpoint inhibitors which have now demonstrated ability to achieve long term control even in advanced solid organ malignancies and lymphomas.

Now, another form of Immunotherapy, called Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has generated substantial excitement for Oncologists. CAR-T cell therapies have demonstrated their ability to eradicate resistant leukaemia and lymphoma and keep them under control for many years. Unlike Immune checkpoint inhibitors which are now widely used, CAR-T cell therapy require significant clinical & technical expertise which is now available only in a few countries.

Kovai Medical Center and Hospital’s CAR-T cell program involves collecting and isolating T cells from affected patient’s blood, which are then genetically engineered to express CARs on their surface. These receptors are specifically designed to bind to antigens on the surface of cancer cells. Once infused into the patient, these modified T cells multiply, seek out and eradicate cancer cells. CAR-T cell therapy in KMCH is tailored and customized treatment for each individual patient.

Initial development of CAR-T cell therapies was focused largely on Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Lymphomas and Myeloma but is now rapidly expanding to other cancer types as well. Multiple CAR-T cell therapies have now demonstrated its efficacy to eradicate hard to treat cancer in at least a proportion of patients and details of long-term outcomes are now emerging.

While CART cell therapy was making rapid inroads, an infusion of CAR-T cell therapy would cost approximately $4,00,000 in United States making it practically inaccessible to many Indian patients. India now has its indigenously-developed CAR-T cell therapy launched at fraction of that cost.



Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Nalla G. Palaniswami, Chairman and Managing Director, congratulated the oncology team of experts on the significant achievement. KMCH has always been at the forefront in introducing innovative medical technologies and this latest treatment demonstrates our commitment to world class cancer care, he further added.

Dr. Arun Palaniswami while congratulating the oncologists emphasised that it is a matter of pride that three patients have been successfully treated and KMCH has become the first hospital in Tamil Nadu to perform the maximum indigenous CAR-T. This could be the most promising treatment option for adults and kids with recurrent or relapsed lymphoma and leukaemia. With this revolutionary treatment, KMCH offers new hope for patients with advanced stage cancers, he further added.