CAR-T therapy is already reimbursed for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma. But not for myeloma. Clinicians, scientific societies and patients themselves are waiting for a reimbursement decision and are convinced that it's a matter of time and system responsibility.
Reimbursement priorities: CAR-T in plasmocytic myeloma
Published June 8, 2026 15:48
Plasmocytic myeloma is a hematopoietic neoplasm originating from plasma cells of the bone marrow. It is characterized by the uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal plasmocytes, cells whose primary function is to produce antibodies. More than 2,000 people in Poland are diagnosed with the disease every year. Treatment resembles a game of chess: a different therapeutic approach is needed at different stages, as the disease becomes resistant to existing treatment or relapses after some time. Remission is possible, but relapse is inevitable. That's why a broad therapeutic range in all lines of treatment is so important. New regimens have made it possible to significantly extend the lives of patients. The NHF report "Quality in Medicine: Treatment of Plasmocytic Myeloma in Poland in Light of the NFZ Report," which covers data from 2023-2025, confirms a clear improvement in treatment efficacy from the first line. This is a signpost for future reimbursement decisions - accessibility to modern therapies is an investment in patients' lives.
CAR-T changes the rules of the game
CAR-T therapy involves taking a patient's own T lymphocytes, the cells of the immune system, and genetically modifying them in the lab to recognize and destroy cancer cells. This is not another drug, it is a tailor-made therapy for a specific patient. Prof. Dominik Dytfeld of the Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Karol Marcinkowski Medical University in Poznan, president of the Polish Myeloma Consortium, has no doubts: - This is an ultra-efficient and ultra-modern therapy. The patient's cells are modified to recognize the myeloma cell and learn to kill it. In Poland, CAR-T is already reimbursed for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma. It has also been registered for the treatment of plasmocytic myeloma. However, a reimbursement decision for this group of patients is lacking.
"Once and done" - once and done
What distinguishes CAR-T from all available anti-myeloma therapies is the one-time administration. Prof. Dytfeld stresses that this argument has both a medical and a systemic dimension. - "Once and done," is a very important argument, because first of all, on the part of the patient, as well as on the part of us, meaning the nursing and medical team and the whole administration, it is a one-time burden. It is an operational effort, an administrative effort, as well as a medical-physician effort. But it is only a temporary effort, and then the patient is left without the need for care, he is simply at home. (...) On the other hand, these subsequent costs, the burden on the system, are less compared to other therapies that are continuous, that require hospitalization every week, every two, every month. Here such costs simply do not exist, and this should be taken into account," assesses Prof. Dytfeld.
A cure? It's no longer an abstraction
What sounded like the distant future not long ago is now becoming possible. The definition of a cure for myeloma is five years of deep remission with no measurable residual disease and no treatment. - No other therapy can even theoretically achieve this criteria. And here it is possible. We are aiming to sanction this definition - that there is such a thing as a cure for myeloma - and lead to as many patients as possible being free of the disease," says Prof. Dytfeld.
And for the patients themselves, one thing matters. - Myeloma patients who have had this CAR-T therapy all say one very important thing: this is the best time since the diagnosis of the disease. Because they are without treatment and without disease. These are the absolute most important things," says Prof. Dytfeld.
The revolution cannot be stopped - reimbursement needed
The rate of progress in hematooncology today is impressive. CAR-T will inevitably become the standard. - It is important to remember that it is simply the most effective therapy," the expert adds. The Polish Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine has placed this therapy among the top ten reimbursement priorities in its TOP HEMATO list. Reimbursement is also recommended by the national consultant in hematology, Prof. Ewa Lech-Marańda. - When you put all the arguments together like this and also count them, this therapy ceases to be so very costly," counters Prof. Dytfeld. Myeloma patients are also counting. Science has done its part.
