Genetically modified cancer-fighting cells are now developed on campus as part of a new cellular therapy program
(SACRAMENTO) Alan Gaines did two tours in the Vietnam War as a Navy fighter pilot—so being brave isn’t new to him. At 77, he was diagnosed with an aggressive blood cancer. When it failed to respond to treatment and his prognosis didn’t look good, he found his courage and his faith, as always.
That’s when UC Davis oncologist Joseph Tuscano asked if he’d like to try a clinical trial that involved removing cancer-fighting cells from his body and re-training them to attack his disease. Essentially, his body’s own natural cancer killers, T cells, would be genetically modified to target the cancer.
Gaines’ bravery turned to excitement.
Alan Gaines, first patient to receive CAR T cells grown at UC Davis, and his wife Ann receive good news from oncologist Dr. Joseph Tuscano.
“I have a degree in engineering, and I know the importance of science,” said Gaines. “I told my wife, ‘Let’s go for it!’ because I thought if it doesn’t work for me it will help others down the road.”
Gaines had a form of lymphoma that was resistant to standard treatment and rapidly fatal without waging a formidable attack. Not only did the CAR T-cell therapy work for Gaines, but the retired commercial airline pilot became a pioneering patient. He received the first CAR T cells genetically manufactured on-site at UC Davis Health in Sacramento. The development comes as a new study shows that CAR T-cell therapy can cure leukemia.
On a follow-up visit to the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center on January 18, 2022, Gaines was given the remarkable news that his fast-growing type of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma appears to be headed toward complete remission. Follow-up scans in two months will confirm.
“I was so excited to be able to tell Alan and his wife, Ann, that it worked,” said Tuscano, interim director of the UC Davis Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. “I know how deadly this blood cancer can be and I want to give him the best chance to be cured. Alan is our first patient to take part in what is expected to be a very successful and robust cellular therapy program.”
T cell manufacturing at UC Davis
Tuscano credits UC Davis Health CEO David Lubarsky with “making the dream a reality” after nearly three years of planning for the launch of the CAR T-cell lab. UC Davis is now one of only a few medical centers in California manufacturing CAR T cells on site, and the only University of California campus doing so.
“The results are early, but extremely promising,” said Lubarsky. “We are starting our CAR T-cell therapy program with blood cancers, but we anticipate using this revolutionary therapy as a breakthrough treatment for many other diseases in the not-too-distant future.”