You are now leaving
this site
This link will take you to a third-party site that is not owned by US WorldMeds. Click “OK” if you would like to proceed or click “Cancel” to stay on this site.
Important terms you may hear during your appointments
Here are some terms associated with synovial sarcoma and TCR T-cell therapy that are mentioned on this website. You can explore these terms for more insight into this disease and treatment.
Authorized Treatment Center (ATC)
Specific Treatment Centers that have the right tools and experts to administer TECELRA.
Biomarker
A biological molecule found in a person's blood, other body fluids, or tissues. This can be a sign of a normal or abnormal body process, or a sign of a condition or disease. Biomarkers may be used to determine whether a person will respond to treatment for a condition or disease.
Cytokine release syndrome (CRS)
A condition that can occur with some immunotherapies when immune cells create a large and rapid release of cytokines, proteins that affect the immune system, into the blood. Signs and symptoms can include fever, fast or irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, nausea/vomiting, and headache. The reaction may be serious or life-threatening.
Engineer
The process of modifying T cells to have special TCRs that are better able to target and destroy synovial sarcoma cells.
HLA
HLA proteins help your T cells respond and bind to cancer cells. In order to receive TECELRA, you need HLA-A*02:01P, HLA-A*02:02P, HLA-A*02:03P, or HLA-A*02:06P, and must not have HLA-A*02:05P.
Leukapheresis
The collection of blood from a person so that white blood cells may be taken out. The remaining blood is then returned to the body.
Lymphodepletion
A short course of chemotherapy given to temporarily reduce the amount of normal white blood cells within the immune system. This is done to provide more “space” for the engineered immune cells infused during treatment.
MAGE-A4
A biomarker called MAGE-A4 is a protein found in some synovial sarcoma tumors. This is the protein TECELRA is designed to detect and target.
Metastasize
When the cancer spreads from its original location to other parts of your body. The metastatic tumors formed by the cells that traveled through the blood or lymph system are the same kind of cancer as the original tumor.
Synovial sarcoma
A type of cancer usually found in the tissue around the major joints in the arms and legs, although it can also form elsewhere in the body. It is a kind of soft tissue sarcoma and often occurs in younger people.
T cell
A type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system. They help protect a person from infection and may help fight cancer by binding to and attacking certain substances or tissue.
T-cell receptor (TCR)
A group of proteins found on T cells that bind to certain proteins on other cells, including cancerous or abnormal cells. Once connected, the T cells can attack these cells to help the body fight cancer, infection, and other diseases.
T-cell therapy
A therapy that takes T cells from a person's body through leukapheresis, engineers them to better locate targeted disease cells—like a certain kind of cancer cell—and puts them back in the person's body to help fight the disease.
Tumor
An abnormal mass of tissue, or lump, formed when cells replicate more than they should. They may be cancer (malignant tumors) or not cancer (benign tumors). If malignant, they can grow into other tissues or spread to other parts of the body (see definition for Metastasize above).