CAR T-Cell Therapy: Engineering the Immune System to Fight Cancer

On this week’s episode of Cancer Care Connections, Cheryl Tan spoke with Dr. Gary Simmons.  Dr. Simmons is a hematologist oncologist and part of the transplant and cellular therapy team for Virginia Oncology Associates. Cheryl and Dr. Simmons dove into CAR T-cell therapy, how it is a revolutionary treatment for fighting blood cancer, and how continued research of CAR T could change the landscape of cancer treatment.If you haven't already, consider listening to episode 2, Introduction to Blood Cancer with Dr. Jared Kobulnicky. He presented a high-level overview of what blood cancer is and the latest developments in treating patients with a blood cancer disorder (including CAR T-cell therapy).  Dr. Gary Simmons received his medical degree from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in Internal Medicine, as well as his subspecialty training in Hematology/Oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. His clinical interests include malignant hematology (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma), stem cell transplant, CAR T-cell, and cellular therapies to treat malignancies. He is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, and oncology. He is an active member of American Society of Hematology (ASH), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and American Society of Transplant Cellular Therapy (ASTCT). Dr. Simmons is a leader in CAR T-cell research. He served as a principal investigator on many cellular therapy trials and is an active member of the Multiple Myeloma Cellular Therapy Consortium. He has an extensive publication record of abstracts and papers and has presented his work at the American Society of Transplant Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and the American Society of Hematology (2019, 2020). In 2022, he was a part of six abstracts presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH).  Topics What is cellular therapy? [5:38] The future of CAR T-cell therapy. [7:13] What diseases can CAR T-cells treat? [8:43] Access to CAR T-cell therapy through programs [13:05] Travel time for CAR T-cell therapy [14:29] Do you have to be in a hospital setting to receive CAR T-cell therapy? [17:45] The future of cellular therapy (not just CAR T) [21:44] Follow us on Instagram: virginiaoncologyassociates Follow us on Facebook: Virginia Oncology Associates Visit Virginia Oncology Associates @ VirginiaCancer.comThank you for listening! If you're interested in hearing more from Virginia Oncology Associates, make sure to subscribe to Cancer Care Connections on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere podcasts are available, or listen online at cancercareconnections.buzzsprout.com. Cancer Care Connections is the official podcast of Virginia Oncology Associates. For more information, visit us at VirginiaCancer.com. or find us on Facebook or Instagram at Virginia Oncology Associates.