WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2026—Patients with a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma called primary central nervous system lymphoma whose cancer is resistant to treatment or that relapses, now have a new treatment option. Following a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug label update, these patients are now able to receive a CAR T-cell therapy called axi-cel (Yescarta).
The FDA first approved axi-cel in 2017 for use in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and several other rare types of lymphoma.
Blood Cancer United provided funding for the clinical trial that led to the original approval of axi-cel through its Therapy Acceleration Program® and has also provided more recent support for the scientific work leading to the latest one.
“Science is a marathon,” says Blood Cancer United’s Chief Scientific Officer Lore Gruenbaum, Ph.D. “Blood Cancer United has been providing essential funding for decades and can take risks when many others can’t afford to. Because for us, the ‘status quo’ is not satisfactory.”
Blood Cancer United’s early support of CAR T-cell therapy development has helped shape the trajectory of how blood cancer is treated by leaning into the power of a patient’s immune system to find and kill cancer cells.
Today, seven CAR T-cell therapies are FDA-approved to treat common and less common blood cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, and several types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The decision to allow the use of axi-cel to treat primary central nervous system lymphoma was based on safety findings from an early-phase study conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
"Primary central nervous system lymphoma is rare but also fast growing with a poor prognosis,” says Dr. Gruenbaum. “There is an urgent need for new treatments like axi-cel to give patients and their doctors more options.”
Supporting the world’s brightest minds
Blood Cancer United provided financial support through its Scholar in Clinical Research Program to two investigators, Caron Jacobson, M.D., and Lakshmi Nayak, M.D., who were instrumental in the clinical trial leading to the latest axi-cel approval.
Every year, Blood Cancer United awards several multi-year research commitments to countless talented physicians and scientists that are advancing the care of all blood cancer patients.
“Blood Cancer United is committed to eradicating all blood cancers, including the rarest forms such as primary central nervous system lymphoma,” says Dr. Gruenbaum. “We will continue our efforts to meet the needs of all the families we serve.”
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