An advanced treatment for certain types of cancers is now available in central Connecticut, led by Dr. Kapil Meleveedu, director of UConn Health’s Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program. He joins Dr. Anthony Alessi to explain how this form of immunotherapy, known as CAR-T, essentially retrains the body’s T-cells to recognize and fight the cancer. Some studies have shown significant promise in improved life expectancy and even potential cure in some specific blood cancers. Hear why Dr. Meleveedu says talking about it “almost feels like science fiction.”

Once that’s prepared outside the body, you’re retrieving it back and infusing into the bloodstream back, where now these T cells have been powered to seek the specific cancer that it’s supposed to go after, find it, kill it.
— Dr. Kapil Meleveedu

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