‘Curative’ blood cancer therapy coming to Westbrook cancer clinic
Westbrook, Maine – On October 14, New England Cancer Specialists conducted a demonstration that could make a life‑saving blood‑cancer treatment a reality for Maine residents. The clinic’s pharmacy team opened a liquid‑nitrogen shipping canister that will store engineered T‑cells for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T) therapy – a form of immunotherapy that has already been used to cure patients with certain types of lymphoma and multiple myeloma in other parts of the country.
The canister, kept at –200 °F, was carefully tested by Yoni Resnick, vice‑president of pharmacy, and Stephen Rolfe, director of pharmacy operations. The first test, which included measuring the temperature and confirming the canister’s integrity, was a success. After the metal container was removed from its outer shipping box, a thin white vapor rose from the opening, the result of the nitrogen’s cold meeting the warm pharmacy air.
“We’ve been working hard to get the logistics in place,” said Resnick. “Having only one in five patients in Maine able to access CAR T is dismal.” The team now plans to deliver the first patient to the Westbrook clinic in November.
How CAR T Works
Dr. John Winters, director of the new CAR T program, explained the treatment process to the press. “This harnesses the patient’s own immune cells to kill the cancer,” he said. “It can be curative for patients who before had no hope.” Patients give a blood sample from which T‑cells are isolated, shipped to a laboratory in California in a liquid‑nitrogen‑filled container, and returned a few weeks later. The cells are then engineered to recognize and attack cancer cells before being infused back into the patient’s bloodstream. Winters added that the treatment can put multiple myeloma in “durable remission” and has shown “curative” results in certain types of lymphoma.
The therapy is usually administered over a three‑week period that includes monitoring for complications. Until now, most Maine patients have had to travel to Dana‑Farber in Boston for the infusion and recovery period. The new local program will allow patients to receive the infusion at the Westbrook office and recover at home, reducing travel time, lodging costs, and the need for a caregiver to stay in a distant city.
A Patient’s Perspective
Deborah Cote, 69, of Dresden, shared her experience traveling to Boston last year for CAR T treatment. “If I could have stayed in Maine, that would have been unbelievable,” she said. “I have a support group here, and I missed that support group in Boston.” Cote was in the hospital in Boston for three weeks, supported by a friend who stayed with her. She said the treatment eliminated cancer cells from her body and that she now feels better than she has in many years.
Local Impact
Maine sees about 400 new cases of non‑Hodgkin lymphoma each year, the American Cancer Society reports. Multiple myeloma accounts for roughly 1.7 % of all cancer diagnoses. With CAR T becoming more common as a frontline therapy, the new program could expand beyond a single monthly patient in the beginning, eventually treating more patients as the clinic’s capacity grows.
“CAR T has been available for about a decade, and as outcomes continue to prove its effectiveness, we expect it to replace chemotherapy as the standard first‑line treatment for certain blood cancers,” Winters said. The clinic’s first patient will begin the process in November, and patients can soon avoid the long journey to Boston and its associated costs.
By bringing the complex logistics of CAR T therapy—shipping cells in ultra‑cold liquid nitrogen and ensuring they remain viable—to Maine, New England Cancer Specialists hopes to improve access to one of the most promising cancer treatments available today.
