Scientists from Monash Health have made a remarkable breakthrough in the treatment of lupus, using a method originally developed to attack leukemia to treat patients of the chronic autoimmune disease.

CAR T-cell therapy is currently under trial conditions but has shown promising results.

Lani Watson, a 32-year-old Melbourne woman, became the first person in Australia to receive the therapy for lupus. 

Prior to the treatment, Watson experienced debilitating symptoms that severely impacted her quality of life. 

“It was literally sharp pain everywhere, which caused inflammation,” she said, describing the condition that sidelined her from playing football and made daily activities challenging. 

“It was very hard to think about what’s going to happen next, basically.”

That was in July 2022. Now, she is in remission. 

“My hands started to be less swollen,” Watson said.

“My feet were swollen as well, so they became less swollen… and I haven’t had any flare-ups since.”

CAR T-cell therapy involves extracting a patient’s T cells, genetically modifying them in a laboratory to target the cells responsible for driving lupus, and then reintroducing them into the patient’s body

“It is absolutely a gamechanger for autoimmune diseases,” said Associate Professor Alberta Hoi, the head of the Monash Lupus Clinic.

While the treatment is currently expensive and limited to trial participants, the results are making clinicians believe a cure could be within reach. 

“That’s the hope – but it’s really early days,” Hoi said.