Pediatric Cellular Therapy

What is cellular therapy?

Cellular therapy, also called immunotherapy, is a type of treatment that harnesses the body's immune system to fight disease. It uses living cells, modified in a lab, to fight cancer and other illnesses. Cellular therapy offers a life-saving option when standard treatments aren't working. The Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT), Cellular & Gene Therapy program provides the following types of cellular therapy, either alone or in combination with other treatments: 

CAR T-cell therapy: For this treatment, T cells, a powerful type of immune cell, are collected from the patient, genetically engineered to seek out and destroy cancer cells and then infused back into the patient. We use CAR T-cell therapy for certain blood cancers that resist standard treatment or have returned after treatment. Patients get a one-time infusion. The therapy has successfully brought long-term reduction or even disappearance of symptoms for many patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. UCSF researchers are now evaluating CAR T-cell therapy for other blood cancers, brain tumors, other solid tumors and lupus.

Remestemcel-L-rknd (Ryoncil): This treatment is made from special cells (mesenchymal stromal cells) derived from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors. The medication harnesses the natural healing and immune-regulating properties of these special cells to treat severe graft-versus-host disease, a serious complication that can occur after a bone marrow transplant.

Cellular therapies are custom-made, which means every child's treatment is tailored to their unique needs. From collecting cells to monitoring recovery, our team of experts provide ongoing support for both patients and families.