When all treatment options had been exhausted, cancer progressed rapidly, and doctors regretfully said that Ms. M had no response to any medication. This situation could only lead to palliative care, meaning Ms. M had no chance to fight this disease anymore; her life was now on borrowed time. Fortunately, Ms. M's family found new hope in China - CAR-T therapy. With the companionship of her family, Ms. M came to China and underwent the world's first fully human BCMA CAR-T therapy. In just 22 days after treatment, all tumors miraculously disappeared, achieving complete remission (CR), and Ms. M was given a new lease on life!
(Note: To protect patient privacy, pseudonyms are used in the text, and the condition and treatment process are slightly abbreviated)
Ignored Pain Turns Out to Be Malignant Multiple Myeloma
Before the arrival of summer in 2017, the life of 58-year-old Ms. M was happy and fulfilling. She and her husband ran a sizable adhesive factory in Thailand, and their daughters excelled in working for global companies. During vacations, the family of four would travel around the world, enjoying happy times together. However, the anticipated happiness came to a halt in July 2021...
In June 2021, Ms. M experienced persistent back pain for over months. Initially thought to be due to fatigue, the pain worsened and she could barely get out of bed. Her family immediately took her to the hospital for detailed examinations, resulting in a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Doctors described it as a malignant plasma cell blood tumor. Despite available treatment options, drug resistance and relapse were inevitable. At that moment, the entire family plunged into darkness...
One of Ms. M's daughter recalled in an interview: "Everyone was very nervous when they learned that our mother had been diagnosed with cancer. I couldn't bear the thought of my mother not being able to see my sister graduate with her Master’s degree and witness both of us being successful in our live or travel around the world together.,
Ms. M's daughter
Exhausting All Treatment Options, Falling into Desperation
To quickly control the condition, Ms. M received treatments including PCD (bortezomib /cyclophosphamide /dexamethasone) for 3 cycles, DVD (daratumumab /bortezomib /dexamethasone) for 2 cycles, and maintenance therapy with bortezomib and lenalidomide starting from October 2021. In January 2023, she underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, achieving partial remission by April 2023. At this time, one of her daughters received an offer to pursue a Master’s degree in the UK and another daughter received an offer to relocate to Singapore for great job opportunites, and everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
However, the good times didn't last long. Ms. M's condition relapsed rapidly, and she began receiving treatments such as PCD and carfilzomib/dexamethasone. Unfortunately, Ms. M did not respond to any of these treatments. In June 2023, local doctors informed Ms. M's family that apart from palliative care, they were powerless, indicating that Ms. M's life was now on borrowed time!
Ms. M's daughter said: "At that time, I had received a valuable opportunity to work abroad, obtained a work visa, and even booked a flight. I had prepared everything and was ready to go. But eventually, I realized that my mother's illness was progressing very rapidly and severely. So, I canceled everything at the last minute. Because I needed to choose my mother over my dreams. I still had time to pursue my dreams. But now, the person who used to shelter me from the storm and take care of me meticulously needs me to protect her! My family and I have to hold up the sky for my mother, fight side by side with her, and defeat the demons!"
Declaring War Against Cancer, CAR-T Brings New Hope for Survival
Ms. M's family began seeking medical advice everywhere, searching online for any hope of prolonging her life. When Ms. M's daughter learned about CAR-T therapy, she saw hope. She conducted extensive research on globally available CAR-T therapies and eventually learned that China had made significant achievements in CAR-T treatment. Fortunately, just as Ms. M was in dire straits, on June 30, 2023, the world's first fully human BCMA CAR-T therapy - Equecabtagene Autoleucel, was shockingly launched in China, becoming a lifesaving straw for Ms. M.
In the literature, Ms. M's daughter saw remarkable research data on Equecabtagene Autoleucel's efficacy in Asian populations and its effectiveness in treating refractory and relapsed multiple myeloma patients with multidrug resistance. Ms. M and her family decided to seek treatment in China.
Crossing Oceans to Reach China, Chinese Medical Team Develops a New Plan
When Ms. M and her family arrived in a completely unfamiliar but hopeful land, they encountered many obstacles. Where should they go to seek treatment? What to do about the language barrier? How to handle payment? And so on...
When they arrived at Tongji Hospital in Shanghai, they met Professor Li Ping, and all their concerns disappeared. Professor Li had extensive experience and shared a wealth of research and treatment histories, giving Ms. M full confidence.
What touched Ms. M and her family was that everyone in this team was very professional and enthusiastic, from the pharmacy staff to the personnel from the biotech company and even the bank staff. They helped remove all obstacles encountered, dispelling Ms. M's concerns about nationality, culture, language, payment, service, and so on, making Ms. M feel very reassured throughout the process, with everyone making maximum efforts to support her.
In September 2023, after a detailed understanding of the condition and comprehensive examinations, Professor Li invited several authoritative experts to discuss together and ultimately concluded that personalized Equecabtagene Autoleucel(BCMA CAR-T) therapy would benefit Ms. M the most.
Professor Li said in an interview: "Ms. M's disease has reached an advanced stage, with some adverse biological features after healing, including abnormalities in 1q21 and the presence of extramedullary masses found by PET-CT. Therefore, conventional treatments would definitely be ineffective."
Current data proves that CAR-T therapy has excellent efficacy and long-term survival for patients with refractory and relapsed multiple myeloma. Previous data showed thatthe sCR/CR rate reached 82.4% (91 cases of RRMM patients who had not received CAR-T treatment and had multiple relapses). The latest data from the 2023 ASH conference showed that the MRD negativity rate of these 91 patients was as high as 97.8%, meaning that most patients achieved tumor-free survival.
Furthermore, one of the main advantages of CAR-T is that it can reduce the need for repeated consolidation or maintenance therapy. With a single infusion, very good results can be achieved, significantly improving the quality of life and allowing patients to return to normal life better and earlier."
Tongji Hospital Hematology Department - Professor Li Ping
Tumors Completely Disappeared in 22 Days! CAR-T Treatment Sets Survival Miracle
On September 8, 2023, Ms. M finally received the last lifeline and officially entered the CAR-T treatment process. After all examination items met the requirements, single-cell collection was performed first.
Hope was within reach, but Ms. M's physical condition deteriorated, and cancer cells crazily consumed her weakening body. The left pleural cavity was also infiltrated by cancer cells. At this point, doctors were using various methods to slow down the spread of cancer, while a customized production line was tailoring precise killing weapons for Ms. M. Everyone was racing against time to gain more time from death.
Bridge therapy began on September 11, 2023;
Local radiotherapy to relieve bone pain started on September 24, 2023;
Fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide chemotherapy was administered from October 9-12, 2023;
Finally, on October 14, 2023, the CAR-T cells carrying the hopes of Ms. M's family were delivered to her by the pharmacy team using professional cold chain logistics. After layers of testing, unpacking, and reconstitution, a small bag of milky-white liquid was infused into Ms. M's body. The doctor said that inside were billions of "special" T cells that could precisely kill multiple myeloma cells. Once inside the body, they would initiate a mode of frenzied sweeping, wiping out cancer cells completely.
However, Ms. M was extremely weak during the infusion, as if all her energy had been drained, leaving only a thread supporting her. No one expected a miracle to happen at that moment; they just hoped that Ms. M's pain could be alleviated.
The infusion process was quick, with the entire bag of liquid entering Ms. M's body within minutes, followed by close monitoring in the laminar flow hood.
On the fifth day after CAR-T infusion, Ms. M developed a fever, reaching a maximum of 39.4°C. The doctor said this was a good sign, indicating that CAR-T was effective in her body. Indeed, Ms. M showed significant improvement after about a week, although she also experienced cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a common complication after CAR-T treatment. However, the medical team at Tongji Hospital was very experienced in this regard, and symptomatic treatment resulted in improvement. By the ninth day, her temperature had returned to normal.
What shocked everyone was that the examination results 22 days after CAR-T treatment showed that Ms. M had achieved hematologic CR, meaning that no cancer cells were detected in her blood. Her pain and anemia were also reversed. It was simply a miracle!
Ms. M's daughter exclaimed excitedly: "When we first arrived in China, my mother had lost 10 kilograms due to illness. She couldn't move because of the pain and couldn't eat anything. Even though our family tried our best to prepare food, she couldn't swallow anything. Even with morphine, her pain couldn't be alleviated. These painful memories are vividly recalled as if they were just yesterday. My family and I simply couldn't believe that a miracle had truly happened. After receiving CAR-T treatment, my mother began to improve rapidly. Just one week later, her pain was almost gone, and she could stand for a long time and even do some things she liked."
Epilogue: Continuing Happiness
On September 8, 2023, Ms. M finally received the last lifeline and officially entered the CAR-T treatment process. After all examination items met the requirements, single-cell collection was performed first.
Every day now is precious to Ms. M. She can go shopping, chat with her family, enjoy delicious food with her family, and travel around the world with them, returning to the happy times before she fell ill. The only difference is that Ms. M and her family visit a fixed destination every month now - Shanghai, China. They have become accustomed to hearing the sacred announcement from the doctors here: no cancer in her body, continuing remission.
Ms. M said gratefully: "I feel very good now, as if I have been reborn." "Thanks to CAR-T cell therapy, thanks to Tongji Hospital, thanks to China, this magical land, which has given me hope to live on."
Ms. M and her daughter
Interview with Liang Aibin, Deputy Dean of Tongji Hospital: "The success of the patient indicates that our grasp of the indications is very accurate, and the selection of the treatment plan for the patient, as well as the timing of CAR-T infusion, including the follow-up and management of complications after infusion, are all very standardized.
I believe that with the success of CAR-T, more and more overseas patients will receive very good treatment in China. Tongji Hospital has also established an International Medical Department, which can communicate with patients and overseas doctors through departments, providing patients with more timely, convenient, thoughtful, and efficient medical services."
Deputy Dean of Tongji Hospital - Professor Liang Aibin
This is a microcosm of countless cancer patients overcoming the disease. The emergence of CAR-T cell therapy has brought new hope to cancer patients. I believe that in the future, more patients will be able to regain a new life like Ms. M.
