Perspective: Personalized Medicine, Improved Outcomes

Ann Mohrbacher, MD, is a hematologist oncologist and director of the autologous stem cell transplantation program with USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

For patients with cancer, how we treat their disease matters. New advancements in personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored to the patient’s unique needs, are leading to cures and helping people live their lives fully without debilitating side effects.

A prime example of this type of customized care offered at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is CAR-T cell therapy, a groundbreaking immunotherapy that is improving outcomes for patients with certain blood cancers who previously didn’t have options.

CAR-T cell therapy gives the immune system the weaponry it needs to fight the cancer. The patient’s white blood cells are collected and engineered to be super soldiers, then put back into the body to find and kill cancer cells.

Our ability to design an individualized treatment plan engineered by a patient’s own biology allows us to explore new dimensions of patient-focused medicine, personalizing not only our bedside care but also our clinical decision making. This all-encompassing personalization is leading to better results.

I’ve seen CAR-T cell therapy cure people who didn’t have any hope of a cure in the past. I meet one of my patients, who has been in remission for more than 10 years after CAR-T cell therapy, on the ski slopes each year to celebrate his continued good health.

Seeing these high-concept treatments really work and give patients the quality of life they want is incredibly gratifying.

Here at USC Norris, we’re continuing to push the boundaries — in the laboratory and in the clinic — on what is possible in cancer care. As an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, combined with the specialized resources of an academic medical system, USC Norris is making innovative progress every day to improve the lives of our patients.

Not long ago, immunotherapies were still experimental. Today, the field has exploded, with incredible benefit for patients whose situations would have previously seemed hopeless.

As a provider, these capabilities allow me to better take care of my patients in every sense. I’m excited to see how much further we have yet to go.

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