North Louisiana patients can now access groundbreaking blood cancer treatment close to home

SHREVEPORT, La. – Ochsner LSU Health – Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is now offering CAR T cell (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy to eligible patients in Shreveport-Bossier and across North Louisiana. This milestone marks a significant advancement in cancer care access for residents of the Ark-La-Tex and surrounding areas, allowing patients with blood cancers to receive cutting-edge treatment closer to home.

What is CAR T cell therapy?

The immune system serves as the body’s primary defense against disease by continuously identifying and responding to abnormal cells and other threats. In patients with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, malignant cells can evade these defenses and progress. CAR T therapy is designed to enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize and target cancer cells more effectively.

Here's how it works: Physicians collect a small number of a patient's own infection-fighting white blood cells, called T-cells, from their blood. Those cells are sent to a specialized laboratory, where scientists engineer them to recognize and attack the specific proteins found on the patient's cancer cells. The newly modified cells are then multiplied and infused back into the patient's bloodstream, where they go to work seeking and destroying cancer.

In simple terms, CAR T therapy takes your own cells, trains them to fight your specific cancer, and sends them back in. It is like a targeted, living medicine made just for you.

A breakthrough for North Louisiana

Ochsner LSU Health is proud to be the sole provider of CAR T therapy and other blood cancer treatments in the region. Having advanced treatments available locally reduces the burden of travel for patients in North Louisiana and the surrounding communities.

Research shows that when patients can receive cancer treatment close to home, supported by their families and communities, health outcomes improve. Patients who maintain strong social support systems are more likely to complete their treatment plans, manage side effects effectively and experience better overall quality of life during and after care.

“This is a defining moment for healthcare in North Louisiana,” said David Callecod, CEO of Ochsner LSU Health. “Our community deserves access to the same life-saving treatments available anywhere in the country, and we are proud to deliver exactly that. When a family in our region receives this level of care close to home, we are fulfilling our mission of providing access to the most advanced levels of care to everyone in our community.”

A destination for advanced blood cancer care

Ochsner LSU Health - Feist-Weiller Cancer Center holds a unique and critical position in the region. It is the only location in North Louisiana and the surrounding area that offers comprehensive treatment for blood cancers, including:

• Leukemia

• Lymphoma (including Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma)

• Multiple Myeloma

Beyond CAR T therapy, Feist-Weiller Cancer Center also offers Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT), another highly specialized treatment for blood cancers and blood disorders that requires transplanting healthy stem cells into a patient to rebuild a disease-free blood system.

This comprehensive suite of blood cancer services, from diagnosis to advanced cellular therapies and survivorship programs, makes Feist-Weiller Cancer Center a destination for cancer services and a critical resource for the region. Through the partnership with LSU Health Shreveport, patients also have access to clinical trials, expanding opportunities to receive promising new therapies while advancing cancer research in North Louisiana.

“Access to advanced therapies like CAR T is not just about treating cancer, it is about transforming outcomes and saving lives,” said Dr. Richard Mansour, director of Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. “When our patients receive the most effective treatments available, close to their families and support systems, the result is better health. Our commitment at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is to ensure that every person in North Louisiana has access to the best cancer care available, delivered with the compassion they deserve.”

To learn more about cancer services at Ochsner LSU Health – Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, visit ochsnerlsuhs.org/fwcc.

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ABOUT OCHSNER LSU HEALTH

The Ochsner LSU Health System of North Louisiana (Ochsner LSU Health) is a partnership between Ochsner Health, the largest health system in the state of Louisiana, and LSU Health Shreveport. Ochsner LSU Health provides healthcare to more than 162,000 patients across North Louisiana. With numerous convenient locations, Ochsner LSU Health includes three acute care hospitals, multiple outpatient facilities and clinics across Shreveport, Bossier and Monroe. The system has more than 4,200 employees that work alongside the Ochsner LSU Health Physician Group of 950 physicians and residents in more than 75 specialties and subspecialties.