Hungary has joined the ranks of countries using advanced gene therapy to fight cancer, as the South-Pest Hospital Centre’s Department of Paediatric Haematology and Stem Cell Transplantation successfully conducted the nation’s first CAR-T cell therapy on two children with leukaemia.
According to the hospital’s Thursday announcement, the pioneering treatment was administered to a nine-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy.
CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy is a revolutionary form of immunotherapy that reprogrammes a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. The process involves collecting immune cells from the patient, genetically modifying them to target leukaemia cells, and then reintroducing them into the bloodstream. Unlike conventional treatments, these modified cells not only destroy cancer but also multiply within the body, ensuring long-term protection.
The South-Pest Hospital Centre noted that CAR-T therapy has globally enabled over half of previously untreatable patients to achieve full recovery. To facilitate this innovative treatment, the hospital established the DPC Innovative Cell Therapy Centre, becoming the first state-run institution in Hungary to receive both European Medicines Agency approval and a domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing licence. The first patient to receive this therapy was a nine-year-old girl whose recurrent leukaemia had spread beyond her bone marrow to her central nervous system and eyes. Dr Krisztián Kállay, head of the medical team performing the procedure, explained that after the infusion of CAR-T cells, doctors closely monitored their multiplication within the child’s body. While the therapy can cause severe side effects requiring intensive care, the girl’s symptoms subsided quickly. She was able to recover at the hospital before being discharged in excellent health. ‘The surviving CAR-T cells provide continuous surveillance against a relapse, and we hope she will remain cancer-free for life,’ said Dr Kállay. A four-year-old boy has also undergone the same treatment, marking another milestone in Hungary’s fight against paediatric leukaemia.
The National Institute of Haematology and Infectology at the South-Pest Hospital Centre has operated Hungary’s largest bone marrow transplant centre since 1991. Over the past 35 years, the department has performed more than 1,000 paediatric stem cell transplants.
Dr Gergely Kriván, head of the hospital’s paediatric haematology and stem cell transplantation unit, highlighted that the department is an internationally recognized reference centre. It primarily treats children with malignant or genetic disorders referred by the Hungarian Paediatric Oncology Network. With a comprehensive range of haematopoietic stem cell transplants available, the department performed 67 bone marrow transplants last year alone.
Hungary’s successful adoption of CAR-T cell therapy signals a new era in paediatric cancer treatment, offering renewed hope for children with aggressive or treatment-resistant leukaemia.
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