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News from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
We're committed to keeping you in the know about developments and discoveries at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. From groundbreaking clinical trials and innovative treatment approaches, to stories about people and how they persevere, this newsletter is your source for subjects that inform and inspire.
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CAR T Innovation: From the Lab to the World
The Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory (IMCPL) at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center supports our chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T) researchers and physicians with state-of-the-art technology designed to achieve an astonishing feat: the creation of CAR T cells.
“CAR T is an uptrending therapy, and Hillman is one of the leaders in therapeutic cell product generation and use,” says Yen-Michael Hsu, MD, PhD, director of the IMCPL. As one of just 52 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Hillman is particularly qualified to make the benefits of CAR T available to patients who need it.
“As an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, we are able to provide all FDA-approved therapies for blood cancers,” says Dr. Hsu. “That leadership position has led to the commercialization of CAR T therapies, which will ultimately benefit patients elsewhere.”
CAR T therapy development involves using the body's own immune cells to create a personalized treatment, but at the IMCPL, physician-scientists are working beyond that.
Because of the time and effort involved, production of novel therapies like CAR T is limited. Hillman is often chosen as an early-phase center, as was recently the case with our being the first center in the region approved to offer CARVYKTI™.
“We are working on solutions to speed these life-saving products to market. It is still personalized medicine, but we're delivering results sooner. This is the next wave of innovation — pushing barriers to help our patients,” says Dr. Hsu.
Hillman is one of the first sites in the country to be approved to prescribe CARVYKTI™ (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), a CAR T product for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
CARVYKTI is the 6th FDA-approved CAR T product, and Hillman is the only center in the region to offer it.
CARVYKTI™ is a trademark of Janssen Biotech, Inc.
Photos by Mike Leonard
Alyson Holt: A Mom's Journey
In February 2019, Alyson Holt was experiencing worsening back pain. An x-ray showed some irregularities. An orthopedic physician told her that something was “eating away at the bones,” and it was likely cancer.
“My first thought was, 'I have to be here for my kids,'” Alyson said.
A Murrysville native and resident, Alyson was immediately referred to UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Monroeville for a PET-CT. “I was grateful that everything I needed was right here in Monroeville,” she said. “The doctors spent a lot of time with me, especially in that first consultation when I was just shocked.”
Alyson's initial scan lit up throughout her pelvic bones. Pathology confirmed the cancer had originated in the lung. She began radiation.
Alyson consulted with Tim Burns, MD, a lung cancer specialist, and her team arrived at an official diagnosis: metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with a BRAF v600e driver mutation.
The mutation, while not common in lung cancer patients, is known to respond to oral medications.
Alyson began oral chemotherapy in September. By December, scans showed that the treatments were working. Unfortunately, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Alyson began having extreme pain and numbness in her legs. The cancer had recurred. Her targeted medication was halted, and she began stereotactic radiosurgery, platinum-based chemotherapy, and immunotherapy.
Alyson's summer was filled with treatments and family time. By December – after nine months of targeted treatments and six months of chemotherapy and immunotherapy – her scans were clear. In April 2021, Alyson and her oncology team decided she would participate in a clinical trial and discontinue chemotherapy and immunotherapy. In May she got her last infusion and has had clean scans ever since. The specific cancer trial in which she participated is offered only at Hillman.
“Don't be scared of clinical trials,” Alyson said. “I'm so glad I went through with it.”
Alyson praises the doctors, nurses, and staff who treated her in Monroeville. “Everyone was so kind and thorough,” she said. “They even had a cake and sang to me on my birthday on my second day of chemo. They didn't even know me yet. I was so touched.”
Today, Alyson is feeling great and back to “normal mom stuff.” She said, “I got my life back.”
Her advice to other cancer patients: record everything at your appointments and find other patients in similar situations. “Feel the grief and heaviness of it, but then find people who are going through what you're going through because you'll find tremendous support, empathy, and hope,” she said.
New Perspectives
Hillman has appointed Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology. An integral member of the senior leadership team overseeing translational research and novel therapeutics development while expanding access to clinical trials, his clinical focus is treating lung cancer.
Monica Baskin, PhD, has joined Hillman as associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement, associate director of Health Equity, and assistant vice chancellor for Community Health Equity. Prior to joining Hillman, Dr. Baskin served as a health disparities researcher and professor and inaugural vice chair for Culture and Diversity at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
Heath D. Skinner, MD, PhD, recently assumed the role of professor and chair, Department of Radiation Oncology. His focus will be elevating Hillman's reputation for excellence in academic radiation oncology. Dr. Skinner joined UPMC in 2018 as an investigator at Hillman and associate professor of Radiation Oncology.
World-Class Cancer Care
You can depend on UPMC Hillman Cancer Center for the comprehensive, compassionate care you prefer. For questions about care or to schedule an appointment, please call 412-647-2811 in the Pittsburgh region or 814-836-2600 in the Erie area.
UPMC accepts most major insurers, including Aetna, BCBS of Western NY, Cigna, Highmark*, United Healthcare, and UPMC Health Plan. If you have questions about access, please call 1-855-646-8762 in the Pittsburgh region and 1-855-746-8762 in the Erie area.
*Highmark members with narrow-network plans have limited in-network access to UPMC. All photos taken before universal masking and distancing.
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