Taken as a group, blood cancers are the fifth most common type of cancer in New Zealand - affecting around one in twenty people during their lifetime. But some patients are forced to seek help overseas because a treatment that could save them isn't available here. The Wellington based Malaghan Institute of Medical Research is working to change that. Winner of this year's Breakthrough Project category in the KiwiNet Awards, Malaghan is currently conducting phase two of its CAR-T cell therapy clinical trials. The therapy essentially uses the body's own immune system to target and kill cancer cells. Professor Robert Weinkove is the Clinical Director and he speaks to Mihi about the next major step in their push to make it a standard part of cancer care in New Zealand.

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