Why Choose CHOP's Immunotherapy Program

At CHOP, our goal is to bring the most effective treatments to the most patients, as quickly as possible.

To that end, our team:

• Began using immunotherapy known as ‘CAR’ T-cell therapy as an investigational treatment option for children with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2012. 
• Has treated over 440 CAR T cell patients to date since then. 
• Our team led clinical trials into the first form of CAR T-cell therapy to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of relapsed and refractory pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The therapy is the first personalized cellular therapy for the treatment of cancer to receive FDA approval.
• Was the first to use investigational CAR T-cell therapy in a child with ALL, who remains cancer-free.
• Has the largest cohort of pediatric patients treated with CAR T cells targeting CD19 and the longest follow-up.
• Identified and applied a treatment to decrease the severity of potentially fatal toxic side effects of CAR T-cell therapy. This approach is now used worldwide for children and adults treated with CAR T-cells and other new immunotherapies.
• Continues to research the use of CAR T-cell therapy in the treatment of several other forms of pediatric cancer, with the hopes of expanding its use to fight other forms of leukemia and solid tumors.

Our Cancer Immunotherapy Program was designated a Frontier Program by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2015. Frontier Programs are unique, cutting-edge programs that will forge important new discoveries, deliver novel therapies, and help even more children thrive.