Novant Health Cancer Institute is at the forefront of advanced cellular therapies, an innovative form of immunotherapy that is transforming cancer treatments. By tapping into the power of a patient’s own immune system, these therapies help slow or stop cancer growth while strengthening the body’s natural defenses against abnormal cells.
Innovative cellular therapy available at Novant Health
Immunotherapy drugs are now approved to treat a wide range of cancers, including certain blood cancers and solid tumors. As research in cellular therapies rapidly advances, new uses for these treatments continue to emerge. Ongoing clinical trials aim to expand their potential to other cancers, as well as autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. At Novant Health, we are proud to be leaders in this research, exploring innovative immunotherapy applications for non-cancerous medical conditions as well, such as Sjögren’s syndrome.
Novant Health is one of a select group of accredited cancer programs to offer transformational cellular and immune effector cell therapies in the United States. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) is routinely used to personalize treatment of recurrent or refractory lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma. In addition to Yescarta, Tecartus, Carvykti, Abecma and Breyanzi, Novant Health offers Lifileucel, an autologous T-cell immunotherapy agent indicated for the treatment.
Potential patients undergo a careful assessment to verify that they are a good candidate to withstand the procedure and tolerate potential side effects. Although access to this therapy is limited to select centers, Novant Health is dedicated to the communities we serve. The institute is an active participant in next-generation research and strives to contribute to understanding the expanding application and utility of CAR-T therapy to target other hematological and solid tumor malignancies.
Novant Health Cancer Institute also offers bispecific antibody therapy, a progressive treatment option intended to help patients with aggressive disease. This therapeutic option is designed to recognize and bind to more than one cell marker, thereby redirecting the body’s immune system to identify the cancer cell and destroy it. We are actively developing algorithms to allow our cancer specialty teams in the more remote and rural areas of the state to safely deliver these agents closer to where our patients live.
Notably, Novant Health has been among the first to provide these clinical trial therapies. According to the trial sponsor, ARCE Therapeutics Inc., Novant Health is the only site in the world for the new CAR-T agent targeting CLL-1 for AML. The first patient to receive the therapy recently completed treatment, and enrollment in the trial is ongoing, said David Rizzieri, MD, senior vice president and physician-in-chief at the Novant Health Cancer Institute.
Notably, Novant Health has been among the first to provide these clinical trial therapies. According to the trial sponsor, ARCE Therapeutics Inc., Novant Health will be the only site in the world for the new CAR-T agent targeting CLL-1 for AML when its study is first activated.
The multidisciplinary referral process at Novant Health
Successful treatment hinges on timely referral to treatment. While some misconceptions exist around eligibility in the broader cancer community, referring providers are urged to initiate the process if there is any question that a patient may be a candidate for cellular therapy.
Guided by its mission to expand access to high-quality care, Novant Health Cancer Institute is working to simplify referrals and streamline the treatment process. These innovative cancer services are currently available at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Although care is provided across multiple campuses, teams stay closely connected through regular meetings. This integrated, multimodality approach ensures a more comprehensive understanding of each patient’s unique needs.
Oncology specialists at Novant Health have developed a rigorous patient selection process. Individual cellular therapy providers present prospective patients to a multidisciplinary panel of experts at weekly meetings. Each patient case is meticulously reviewed using well-established scoring systems and comorbidity criteria to determine suitability of treatment. The individual risks and benefits are discussed in detail. If a patient is deemed to be a good candidate, they are required to undergo thorough organ function testing. The results are brought back to the multidisciplinary panel for final review.
Leading-edge Cancer Treatments
Partner with an Expert
“Our specialists have the knowledge, skill set and support to offer the vast and overwhelming majority of therapies our patients need close to home, including the most novel cellular and immunotherapies."
Beyond state-of-the-art oncological services, Novant Health offers supportive care throughout the course of cellular therapy administration and recovery processes. Provider-based ambulatory infusion centers are a vital component of the care team, offering infusion and injection services to help make therapy comfortable and convenient for patients without the need for hospitalization.
Contributing subject matter experts:
Our Connected Care Commitment
Our referral process is designed to save you time and improve patient care by reducing the obstacles you face every day – such as patients waiting weeks to be scheduled, repeated phone calls and unclear next steps.
- Save time. One centralized eFax handles referrals to all our North Carolina specialists.
- Accelerate care. Patients can get from referral to treatment with appointments available in as little as 48 hours.
- Higher patient satisfaction. Our optimized schedules and workflows create more appointment options for a smoother patient experience.
- Reduce administrative burden. Our process frees your team to focus on care, not coordination.
- 24/7 behavioral health. Patients can call 800-718-3550 anytime, with referral outreach within 48 hours.
