- Expert Care, Locally Delivered: While previously available only in large, urban hospital systems, Virginia Cancer Specialists has developed a comprehensive CAR T-cell program significantly broadening accessibility to the community. Complex care can be delivered effectively and locally.
- Comprehensive Support: From initial consultation to post-treatment monitoring, we guide you through every step with compassion and expertise. We have multidisciplinary care and ancillary support services during the entire process.
- State-of-the-Art Facility: Our center is equipped with the latest technology and safety protocols to ensure the highest standard of care.
- Collaborative Approach: We work closely with referring physicians and national CAR T-cell networks to ensure seamless, personalized treatment plans.
If you’re a federal employee and have questions about continuing coverage, please speak to your Patient Benefits Specialist and visit our insurance page here: virginiacancerspecialists.com/insurance/. Exciting News! Our Gainesville Office has moved to Bristow – 9450 Innovation Drive, Manassas, VA 20110. Same great providers and care team, same exceptional care, new, larger space to better serve our patients.
CAR T-Cell Therapy Program
At Virginia Cancer Specialists, we’re proud to bring one of the most advanced cancer treatments – CAR T-cell therapy – to our community. This groundbreaking, personalized immunotherapy is transforming outcomes for patients with certain blood cancers, offering new hope where traditional treatments may have failed. Also known as T-Cell immunotherapy, CAR T-Cell Therapy in Northern Virginia is available at select Virginia Cancer Specialists locations for eligible patients with lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.
What is CAR T-Cell therapy?
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a highly personalized version of immunotherapy that has been developed and refined over the last decade, demonstrating unprecedented efficacy in certain forms of aggressive hematologic cancers. A patient’s own healthy immune cells (T cells) are collected, precisely reprogrammed to identify, target, and destroy cancer cells potentially yielding long term, treatment-free remissions. This advanced form of immunotherapy, sometimes referred to as T-Cell cancer treatment, is part of our commitment to providing cutting-edge care to patients throughout Northern Virginia.
Why choose Virginia Cancer Specialists?
Who can benefit?
CAR T-cell therapy is FDA-approved for certain types of relapsed or refractory blood cancers. Virginia Cancer Specialists is certified to administer lisocabtagene maraleucel for relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and idecabtagene vicleucel for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM). These groundbreaking therapies represent a major step forward in personalized cancer treatment, offering new hope to patients. It is anticipated that further cell therapy products will be added as treatment options in the future as well.
With the addition of lisocabtagene and idecabtagene in Virginia Cancer Specialists’ arsenal, patients now have access to some of the most advanced cellular immunotherapies available today, including CAR T-Cell Therapy in Northern Virginia for eligible patients with lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma.
“While there have been many exciting developments over the last several years in immunotherapy, CAR T-cell therapy is moving to the forefront due to dramatic results from clinical trials for various blood cancers once considered incurable. This program marks a major advancement in our ability to treat these complex blood cancers effectively as it moves us from generalized treatments to personalized, immune-based therapies,” said Dipti Patel-Connelly, MD, Medical Oncologist and former practice president, who sees patients at Virginia Cancer Specialists’ Fairfax location. “As more CAR T therapies become available and certifications like Kite’s axi-cel are added, the future of cancer care will increasingly focus on precision medicine, targeting cancer in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago.”
“Among the many benefits of CAR T-cell therapy is its personalized nature. Given it’s made from a patient’s own immune cells, it’s tailored specifically and precisely. We’re also encouraged by often durable remission effects and fewer systemic effects such as harm to healthy cells often seen with chemotherapy,” said Mitul Gandhi, MD, Medical Oncologist, co-director of the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute, and Director of the Hematology Trials Program, who sees patients at Virginia Cancer Specialists’ Bristow and Fairfax locations. “This is more than a treatment,” added Gandhi. “It’s a completely new way of thinking about how we fight cancer—cell by cell, patient by patient. We are excited to be able to bring the most advanced therapeutic modalities to treat the most challenging cases to our patients.”
Hope Begins Here
If you or a loved one is facing a difficult cancer diagnosis, CAR T-cell therapy may offer a new path forward. Contact us today to learn more or schedule a consultation with our CAR T-cell therapy team: VCSCellulartherapy@usoncology.com or call 703.208.9363
CAR T-Cell Therapy Team
If you or a loved one is facing a difficult cancer diagnosis, CAR T-cell therapy may offer a new path forward.
