Lucknow, Sep 25 (IANS): The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) and the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in collaboration with the Central government, will soon launch a project to produce CAR-T cells that will help provide cancer patients world-class treatment.

CAR-T cells, a form of cancer immunotherapy, use genetically altered T cells for targeted cancer treatment.

This treatment is currently available in developed countries and the private sector in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

KGMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Soniya Nityanand said that cancer in children should not cause undue concern due to its rapid spread as the survival rates are high.

Blood cancer, the most common in children, boasts a 90 per cent survival rate for five years or more, while lymphomas, the second most common, have a 70 per cent survival rate.

She stressed the importance of early detection through awareness. She reassured that relapse is also treatable with bone marrow transplants and immunotherapy.

“KGMU and SGPGI already conduct bone marrow transplants and are in discussion with the Centre to domestically produce CAR-T cells, making targeted cancer treatment affordable for patients. Funds have already been approved. With this, world class treatment will be available here,” she said.

Dr Archana Kumar, senior faculty member, said that nutrition and mental health play a crucial role in surviving cancer.

She shared her husband’s story, a brain cancer survivor who defeated cancer with mental strength and treatment.

Despite the doctor’s grim prognosis of 12 to 14 months, her husband was determined to prove them wrong, and he did.

“His willpower did the trick and beat cancer,” she added.