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ASCO 2026 | Managing hematological malignancies in the Middle East: insights & challenges
Osama Alsmadi, PhD, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan, discusses the challenges of managing hematological malignancies in the Middle East, highlighting limited access to CAR T-cell therapies, inadequate research, and late diagnosis. Dr Alsmadi notes that the high cost of CAR T-cell therapy is a significant burden, although some countries in the region offer subsidized access through government or insurance coverage. This interview took place during the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
The challenges, in fact, are again, you know, not so many centers. Also, we recognize that there are two centers today that are offering CAR-T in the region, my center, King Hussein Cancer Center, and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital Research Center in Saudi Arabia. And although these are existing, you know, but overall for the region, the challenges are, in fact, that there is access to these therapies...
The challenges, in fact, are again, you know, not so many centers. Also, we recognize that there are two centers today that are offering CAR-T in the region, my center, King Hussein Cancer Center, and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital Research Center in Saudi Arabia. And although these are existing, you know, but overall for the region, the challenges are, in fact, that there is access to these therapies. There is also not much research taking place. And we really think that basically some of the challenges are the late diagnosis of people who really have the disease. And above all, the CAR-T cell therapy, as you know, is expensive. And the biggest challenge is, in fact, also, beside what I mentioned, the economics and financial burden. A lot of people cannot afford this. And in the region, those who receive it are fortunate to have the therapy, in fact, benefiting from the fact that this is offered as subsidized by the country, like the governments and the insurance companies, such as in other kinds of countries that are not covering this kind of therapy, so we think this is also a major challenge that it’s not easy to overcome.
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