Expanded Research Facility at UH Also Expands Options for Tallmadge Man with Aggressive Cancer

Immunotherapy is a big word, but it’s a pretty simple concept. Doctors and scientists use advanced techniques to harness the powerful cells of an individual’s immune system, then re-engineer and re-deploy them back to the patient to fight disease, creating a living treatment.

UH has been involved in this groundbreaking work for decades. But with the recent expansion of the Wesley Center for Immunotherapy at UH Seidman Cancer Center, completed in 2022, more patients than ever can benefit.

Already, this investment in science is paying off: UH Seidman researchers, for example, have shown they can manufacture a specific type of immunotherapy cell called CAR T in just 24 hours – an improvement over the team’s previous benchmark of eight days and commercial suppliers that take up to four to six weeks.

Jack Boyle is one of many patients benefitting from the Wesley Center. He came to UH Seidman Cancer Center for a second opinion on an aggressive cancer. After a few different rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, Jack’s cancer returned in early 2022. It was clear that the tiny fighters of CAR T-cell therapy were his best option.

Today, Jack is beating the odds.

“Estimated survival is under one year for patients in Jack’s circumstances,” said his UH Seidman oncologist Molly Gallogly, MD, PhD. “CAR T treatment has given Jack the chance of a longerthan-average progression-free survival after his post-transplant relapse. He is almost back to his clinical baseline with no evidence of cancer recurrence six months after CAR T-cell therapy.”