Who is CAR T for?
CAR T is currently available to help treat some blood cancers:
CAR T may be available if:
- one or more of your treatment(s) did not work, or
- your cancer returned
Your doctor may consider:
- the type of blood cancer you have
- which treatments you've tried
- other things, like your overall health and personal circumstances
Eligibility will be determined by your doctor. Talk to your doctor about what they may take into consideration for you. Some basic guidelines for CAR T are listed below, by type of cancer.
B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
If you are a patient that has tried at least one treatment and it didn't work or your cancer came back.
B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
- Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
If you are an adult patient that has tried at least one treatment and it didn't work or your cancer came back.- Primary Mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma (PMBCL)
If you are an adult patient that has tried at least two treatments and it didn’t work or your cancer came back.
- Primary Mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma (PMBCL)
- Follicular Lymphoma (FL)
If you are an adult patient that has tried at least two treatments and they didn't work or your cancer came back. - Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)
If you are an adult patient that has tried at least one treatment and it didn't work or your cancer came back.
Multiple Myeloma (MM)
If you are an adult patient that has tried at least four treatments and they didn't work or your cancer came back.
If you don't meet the requirements right now:
- your doctor may recommend other options based on your situation—you may never need CAR T
- your doctor may recommend monitoring your health and situation—if your situation changes, you and your doctor may consider CAR T as an option
- you may be able to receive CAR T as a part of a clinical trial
As more research is done, CAR T may become available to more patients.
To learn more about treatments that are available for your blood cancer, visit the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), click 'Guidelines for Patients' and find your blood cancer.
If you're ever unsure, don't be afraid to ask your doctor or get a second opinion.
CAR T is also being studied in clinical trials to see if it can be used in other situations. Some patients may receive CAR T through a clinical trial.
To find out more about CAR T clinical trials, you can:
- ask your healthcare team or a medical center offering CAR T about clinical trials
- reach out to an advocacy or support group for help understanding and finding clinical trials
- visit the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Trials Information page, or search here for "CAR T"
CAR T is being studied in clinical trials to learn more about things like:
- whether CAR T can treat more types of cancer and other diseases
- whether CAR T can be used as an earlier treatment option
- how CAR T works in combination with other cancer treatments
- how to better manage potential side effects
There are many types of treatment options that could be available to you now, or in the future if you need them. Here are some examples of treatment types that you may hear about from your healthcare team. There may be other types or combinations of treatments as well.
