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White blood cells are removed, genetically modified to attack cancer cells and put back into patients, in a treatment that was recently approved in Singapore. (Photo: Novartis) - 

A type of cell therapy forcancer has been approved for use in Singapore, providing another treatment option for patients with certain types of advanced blood cancers which are not in remission despite having gone through other forms of treatment. 

Such patients include children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia - the most common type of paediatric blood cancer in Singapore - if they fulfil certain criteria.

The new treatment works by removing disease-fighting cells called T cells from patients, genetically engineering them to attack cancer and putting the cells back into them. 

Developed by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis, the therapy is called CAR-T, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell. It is marketed commercially as Kymriah.

It was approved under Singapore's new cell, tissue and gene therapy products (CTGTP) regulatory framework which came into effect on Mar 1.

Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to offer the treatment. 

Explaining how the therapy works, Professor William Hwang, medical director of the National Cancer Centre Singapore said: “Imagine cancer cells as criminals and T cells as policemen. If there are strong, persistent and covert criminals in the city that the policemen cannot get rid of, the CAR-T process is like taking the policemen out, giving them training to recognise all the criminals and returning them to the city to root out the enemies.”

Prof Hwang described it as a "breakthrough".

“It is a major advancement in the emergence of immune-based treatment strategies and is a significant step forward in offering patients life-saving, individualised cancer treatment for blood cancers and disorders,” he said.

The treatment is, however, expensive and there are potentially serious side effects. The therapy is approved for children and young adults with advanced blood cancers, in particular, patients aged two to 25 withB-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) that is resistant and where a relapse has occurred subsequently or post-transplant//CNA