Türkiye to adopt cell-based treatment for leukemia
ANKARA
A hospital run by the Foundation for Children with Leukemia (LÖSEV) is preparing to introduce CAR-T cell therapy, one of the most advanced treatments for leukemia and other blood cancers, marking a milestone in Türkiye’s fight against the disease.
CAR-T, short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, involves collecting a patient’s own immune cells, reprogramming them in the laboratory to recognize cancer cells and then reinfusing them into the body to attack the disease.
The method has been hailed internationally as a breakthrough, especially for patients who do not respond to conventional chemotherapy or bone marrow transplants.
It has already shown promising results abroad. In Spain, seven patients with end-stage leukemia received CAR-T therapy with positive outcomes, offering hope not only for leukemia patients but also for those battling lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Speaking at an international cancer symposium in the capital Ankara, medical experts highlighted the significance of immunotherapy, gene therapy and genetically engineered immune cells.
Professor Dr. Ahmet Emin Kürekçi, head of the bone marrow transplantation unit at LÖSANTE Hospital, explained that CAR-T therapy means taking a patient’s own T lymphocytes and equipping them with receptors that can recognize proteins inside cancer cells.
"Once reprogrammed, these cells are trained in the lab to identify and destroy cancer,” he added.
He noted that the method may also contribute to the development of a cancer vaccine in Türkiye, enhancing both prevention and treatment.
Professor Dr. Günhan Gürman, president of the LÖSEV’s cancer research center, described CAR-T as “a process that requires advanced technology at every stage and is continuously evolving. It is a treatment that will bring solutions for patients who previously had no options.”
Leukemias are the most common cancers in children, affecting around 1,500 children each year in Türkiye. Although cure rates for leukemia were once very low, decades of medical advances and research have steadily increased survival.
