Leukemia Treatment in Israel

Sheba Medical Center is a world leader in the implementation of CAR T-cell therapy for leukemia patients. CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative procedure that makes use of your own immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. After some blood is taken from the patient, the T-cells, a type of immune cell, are separated from the rest of the blood in a special laboratory. The T-cells are then genetically engineered to produce chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The engineered T-cells are then given time to multiply in the laboratory and are later injected back into the patient. The CARs allow the T-cells to recognize, target, and destroy cancer cells.

Unfortunately, as a novel advanced treatment, CAR T-cell therapy is only available in a handful of medical institutions worldwide and tends to be very expensive. At Sheba Medical Center, CAR T-cells are engineered in-house in a specialized laboratory, and as a result, the entire process, from lymphocyte collection to patient delivery, only takes about 10 days. In contrast, many other hospitals use commercial CARs, which must be engineered abroad and shipped back, taking months to become available. This delay allows the patient’s disease to progress further, which can also reduce the effectiveness of the body’s response to the CARs. Furthermore, the shipping process compromises cell quality, as some cells die during the necessary freezing and thawing.