According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma accounted for nearly 10% of all new cancer diagnoses in 2020. Blood cancers are also responsible for 10% of all cancer deaths.

Fortunately, there is a major advancement developing in personalized treatments for these deadly cancers: chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy.

Thanks to the generosity in our community, ABSMC is the first community hospital in Northern California to offer this innovative therapy.

This leading-edge treatment involves separating T cells from a patient’s blood, manipulating them to bind with a specific protein on their cancer cells and then growing large quantities of the modified T cells. Then, when given back to the patient by infusion, the modified T cells kill the cancer cells.

ABSMC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center is an ideal location for CAR-T therapy, owing in large part to the clinical expertise of Sutter East Bay Medical Group hematology oncologist Oleg Krijanovski, M.D. Dr. Krijanovski partnered with philanthropy to bring this state-of-the-art treatment to East Bay residents. As of March 2024, six CAR-T transplants have taken place at ABSMC’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“At least 30% to 40% of the patients I see have a kind of malignancy that can benefit from CAR-T therapy, and the list of treatable cancers is growing rapidly,” Dr. Krijanovski says. “My hope is that our cancer center can be at the forefront of using these innovative therapies much earlier in the course of disease, rather than as a last treatment option.”

If you are interested in making an impact by helping us reach our $2.5M goal for the CAR-T program at ABSMC, please contact Elizabeth Lundmark at elizabeth.lundmark@sutterhealth.org or 510-206-7013.