A new BBC film looks at the work of scientists at UCL and clinicians at UCLH working together on groundbreaking ‘first in-human’ trials of CAR T-cell therapy.
War in the Blood, produced by Minnow Films for BBC Two, and directed by Arthur Cary, will air on Sunday 7 July at 9pm.
The trials are testing new treatments which ‘re-programme’ the immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells, providing a more efficient and less toxic way of treating cancer.
Between them, UCLH and UCL are leading the largest portfolio of CAR T cell studies in Europe with underpinning support from the BRC and funding by several partners including the blood cancer charity Bloodwise, and the EU 7th Framework Programme.
Image Credit: BBC/Minnow Films/Richard Ansett Photographer: Richard Ansett
Dr Martin Pule of the UCL Cancer Institute, who leads the UCL CAR T-cell programme and whose work is the main focus of the film, said: “CAR T-cell therapy can result in long lasting remissions in patients with blood cancers which have failed all standard treatments. CAR T-cell therapy is a revolutionary new approach in treating cancer.”
BRC Director Professor Bryan Williams said the BRC had supported the research from outset. He said: “We supported this work because we could see the potential for it to generate new and potentially life-saving treatments for cancer. It is truly remarkable to see the speed at which this has happened - it is an example of research in action in the NHS at its very best.”
The BBC’s feature length documentary – 100 minutes long and filmed over two years at University College Hospital and UCL – follows two patients through their treatment and the doctors battling to save their lives.
For 53-year-old Graham and 18-year-old Mahmoud – both terminally ill – the trial represents their only option. The film looks at how their ages and life experiences affect their physical and emotional response, as well as the complex relationship between scientists developing these treatments, the clinical team testing them and the patients receiving the experimental therapies.
UCLH consultant haematologist Claire Roddie said: “CAR T-cell therapy is a form of personalised treatment for patients who do not respond to standard anti-cancer treatments like chemotherapy and has been shown in trials to cure some patients with cancer, even those with advanced cancers. Most treatments used in patients with end-stage cancer extend life by a few months. For a good proportion of patients, CAR T-cells are resulting in cures. This is unprecedented.”
Professor Emma Morris of the UCL Division of Infection & Immunity says the therapy represents “a real step change in how we treat cancers. It represents a leap in medical therapies, from using small chemical molecules or proteins to using cells. The complexity of cells means that they can be engineered in highly ingenious ways, leading to treatments with specificity and activity unimaginable in conventional treatments.”
In April the BRC launched an animated film on CAR T therapy, hosted on the TED-Ed platform, which has already received over 350,000 views.
The work of Dr Pule’s lab will be showcased at the UCLH / UCL Research Open Day on 4 July.
