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Not all news from hospitals brings hope, but this does. At La Paz Hospital in Madrid, seven children who had exhausted almost all options for treating aggressive leukaemia are now disease-free.
The treatment does not come from outside. It was created here, in the public system, and that makes it even greater. It is a new CAR-T therapy, an improved version they have called tandem, because it acts on two fronts at once (CD19 and CD22). This prevents the cancer from finding a way to ‘escape’.
A total of eleven children participated. All of them had undergone chemotherapy, transplants, and extremely harsh treatments. Seven are now in complete remission. There is no trace of cancer. They are returning to school, playing, and making plans. Things that were not so simple for them before.
The doctors explain it with the calmness of those who have seen a lot, but also with a sparkle in their eyes that says it all. “We wanted to give them a real option, and today they have it.” Behind that phrase lie years of work, trials, failures and also faith.
The project has benefited from the collaboration of the Carlos III Health Institute and the CNIO. All done in Spain. Public science, cutting-edge medicine and humanity at the centre.
Sometimes headlines seem cold, but this one isn’t. Because behind it are children, families and teams who never let go of each other’s hands.
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