Chamber and committees

Between 1 November 2019 and 30 April 2020, 15 adult patients who were thought by their local specialist to require further treatment for certain types of lymphoma were referred to and considered by the Scottish lymphoma CAR -T Multi-Disciplinary Team. 10 of these patients were considered to be suitable for treatment with one of the two currently licensed and SMC recommended CAR-T therapies. These patients were then referred for further assessment and treatment to either the Scottish adult CAR-T service in Glasgow or to a specialist centre in England. Referring and treating clinicians are considering the potential consequences of the pandemic and the risks of proceeding with treatment in the current climate versus the risk of either delaying or offering alternative treatments, with patients assessed on a case by case basis. Referrals to the adult centre in Glasgow and other providers in England have been accepted over the last 2 weeks.

The Scottish Cancer Registry has confirmed cancer registration data up to December 2018. CAR-T cell therapy is a treatment introduced after 2018. Therefore, Public Health Scotland do not have this registration information yet.

Table 1 shows information on the number of hospital admissions for patients who received a stem cell transplant and had a diagnosis of blood cancer in each of the last six months for which data are available.

Table 1: