Chinese hospital treats US cancer patient with experimental therapy

A Chinese hospital has used an experimental therapy to treat an American patient with bone marrow cancer, the first time a foreigner has received such therapy at a Chinese institution, the hospital said.

Craig Chase, 56, from California, was discharged on Aug 30 from Jiangsu People's Hospital in Nanjing, in Jiangsu Province, after receiving treatment for myeloma cancer.

Before he was discharged from hospital, his blood test results were within normal range.

"The medical treatment has been successful," said Dr. Chen Lijuan, who carried out the CAR-T trials.

Chase underwent repeated chemotherapy and received an autologous stem cell transplant in June 2015. However, the conventional treatment failed to contain the disease.

In June, he learnt about the CAR-T trial treatment in China and through his American doctor contacted Li Jianyong, director of the hematology department at Jiangsu People's Hospital. Li is a famed blood disease expert in China. Li directed Chase to Chen.

The hospital started to treat myeloma cancer patients by using CAR-T therapy from April this year.