APSam Neill, the adventurous Jurassic Park paleontologist who emerged from New Zealand to make his mark as one of the most versatile characters in films including The Piano, Dead Calm, In the Mouth of Madness and many more, has died. He was 78.
His family announced his death on Monday, July 13 in a statement, saying he died in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, surrounded by friends and family. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free,” the statement said.
Neill had lived with stage-three blood cancer for five years but announced just months ago that he was cancer-free after undergoing CAR T-cell therapy, an innovative form of immunotherapy designed to help the body's own immune system fight cancer.
In April, Neill revealed that the treatment had changed the course of his illness. “I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years, and I was on chemotherapy, and [it was] a pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,” he said in an interview with 7 News Australia.
Before receiving CAR T-cell therapy, the actor had undergone chemotherapy for several years.
CAR T-cell therapy, short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, is a type of immunotherapy used to treat certain blood cancers when standard treatments are no longer effective or when the disease returns.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the treatment works by modifying a patient's own T lymphocytes, commonly known as T cells, so they become better at recognizing and destroying cancer cells.
Doctors collect a patient's T cells from the bloodstream and, in a laboratory, introduce a new gene that enables the cells to produce a special protein called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). This receptor acts like a highly targeted sensor that helps the immune cells identify cancer cells that may otherwise escape detection.
The modified CAR T cells are then multiplied until millions are available before being infused back into the patient's bloodstream.
Under normal circumstances, T cells patrol the body looking for abnormal proteins, known as antigens, on infected or cancerous cells. However, cancer cells can sometimes avoid detection by the immune system.
CAR T-cell therapy gives T cells a new receptor specifically engineered to recognize proteins found on certain blood cancer cells. Once infused back into the patient, these modified immune cells seek out and destroy cancer cells while continuing to multiply inside the body, the health outlet explains.
Because the engineered cells can remain active for extended periods, researchers often describe CAR T-cell therapy as a "living drug."
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved CAR T-cell therapy in 2017 to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as per the US National Cancer Institute.
Since then, additional CAR T-cell therapies have been approved for adults with several blood cancers, including the following:
CAR T-cell therapy has produced remarkable results for some patients, although it is not a guaranteed cure.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a 2020 study following children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia found that more than 85% achieved complete remission immediately after CAR T-cell therapy, while 60% remained cancer-free 12 months later.
At the same time, analyses of CAR T-cell research have found that the treatment does not permanently cure every patient, and some cancers eventually return despite an initial response.
For many people with difficult-to-treat blood cancers, however, CAR T-cell therapy has significantly extended survival and, in some cases, led to long-term remission.
His family announced his death on Monday, July 13 in a statement, saying he died in a hospital in Sydney, Australia, surrounded by friends and family. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free,” the statement said.
Neill had lived with stage-three blood cancer for five years but announced just months ago that he was cancer-free after undergoing CAR T-cell therapy, an innovative form of immunotherapy designed to help the body's own immune system fight cancer.
In April, Neill revealed that the treatment had changed the course of his illness. “I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years, and I was on chemotherapy, and [it was] a pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,” he said in an interview with 7 News Australia.
Before receiving CAR T-cell therapy, the actor had undergone chemotherapy for several years.
What is CAR T-cell therapy and how does it work?
CAR T-cell therapy, short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, is a type of immunotherapy used to treat certain blood cancers when standard treatments are no longer effective or when the disease returns.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the treatment works by modifying a patient's own T lymphocytes, commonly known as T cells, so they become better at recognizing and destroying cancer cells.
Doctors collect a patient's T cells from the bloodstream and, in a laboratory, introduce a new gene that enables the cells to produce a special protein called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). This receptor acts like a highly targeted sensor that helps the immune cells identify cancer cells that may otherwise escape detection.
The modified CAR T cells are then multiplied until millions are available before being infused back into the patient's bloodstream.
How does the treatment fight cancer?
Under normal circumstances, T cells patrol the body looking for abnormal proteins, known as antigens, on infected or cancerous cells. However, cancer cells can sometimes avoid detection by the immune system.
CAR T-cell therapy gives T cells a new receptor specifically engineered to recognize proteins found on certain blood cancer cells. Once infused back into the patient, these modified immune cells seek out and destroy cancer cells while continuing to multiply inside the body, the health outlet explains.
Because the engineered cells can remain active for extended periods, researchers often describe CAR T-cell therapy as a "living drug."
Which cancers can it treat?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved CAR T-cell therapy in 2017 to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as per the US National Cancer Institute.
Since then, additional CAR T-cell therapies have been approved for adults with several blood cancers, including the following:
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Certain forms of leukemia
How successful is CAR T-cell therapy?
CAR T-cell therapy has produced remarkable results for some patients, although it is not a guaranteed cure.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a 2020 study following children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia found that more than 85% achieved complete remission immediately after CAR T-cell therapy, while 60% remained cancer-free 12 months later.
At the same time, analyses of CAR T-cell research have found that the treatment does not permanently cure every patient, and some cancers eventually return despite an initial response.
For many people with difficult-to-treat blood cancers, however, CAR T-cell therapy has significantly extended survival and, in some cases, led to long-term remission.
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