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No evidence that CAR T cell therapy causes secondary cancers, Penn study finds
Thursday, March 20, 2025
A new study from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, published in Nature Medicine, confirms that CAR T cell therapy does not cause secondary cancers. Researchers analyzed 783 patients who received CAR T therapy at Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and found that while 18 patients developed secondary cancers, none were linked to CAR T treatment. Instead, these rare cases were associated with prior treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, which are known to increase cancer risk.
CAR T therapy—pioneered at Penn—works by modifying a patient’s own T cells to better recognize and attack cancer. Since its FDA approval in 2017, it has helped more than 30,000 patients with hard-to-treat blood cancers, with some experiencing remissions lasting over a decade. Concerns about potential risks led the FDA to add a safety label warning in 2024, but this new research provides strong reassurance that CAR T therapy remains a safe and life-saving option.
Breakthroughs like CAR T therapy don’t happen overnight. They’re made possible by years of clinical trials and research, which Philly Fights Cancer has been proud to help fund since 2015. By supporting cutting-edge science, Philly Fights Cancer helps turn discoveries into real treatments—giving patients access to the most advanced cancer care available today.
Read more about this important study at the link below. No evidence that CAR T cell therapy causes secondary cancers
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A new study from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, published in Nature Medicine, confirms that CAR T cell therapy does not cause secondary cancers. Researchers analyzed 783 patients who received CAR T therapy at Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and found that while 18 patients developed secondary cancers, none were linked to CAR T treatment. Instead, these rare cases were associated with prior treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, which are known to increase cancer risk.
CAR T therapy—pioneered at Penn—works by modifying a patient’s own T cells to better recognize and attack cancer. Since its FDA approval in 2017, it has helped more than 30,000 patients with hard-to-treat blood cancers, with some experiencing remissions lasting over a decade. Concerns about potential risks led the FDA to add a safety label warning in 2024, but this new research provides strong reassurance that CAR T therapy remains a safe and life-saving option.
Breakthroughs like CAR T therapy don’t happen overnight. They’re made possible by years of clinical trials and research, which Philly Fights Cancer has been proud to help fund since 2015. By supporting cutting-edge science, Philly Fights Cancer helps turn discoveries into real treatments—giving patients access to the most advanced cancer care available today.
Read more about this important study at the link below. No evidence that CAR T cell therapy causes secondary cancers