In 2025, Viet Nam achieved a remarkable milestone in modern medicine when a 12-year-old girl with high-risk leukemia was successfully treated using some of the most advanced therapies available today.
This achievement combined traditional stem-cell transplantation with cutting-edge immunotherapy known as CAR-T cell therapy, marking a new chapter in the country’s fight against difficult-to-treat blood cancers.
The case not only saved a young life but also represented a significant advancement for hematology and oncology in Southeast Asia.
The Patient’s Struggle and Diagnosis
The young girl was diagnosed with acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of leukemia that originates in the bone marrow and is particularly aggressive. After initial chemotherapy, her cancer returned.
Doctors then performed a half-matched stem-cell transplant using cells from her father in hopes of eradicating the disease.
Despite the transplant, the leukemia relapsed a second time, demonstrating how resilient and dangerous the disease had become.
After multiple rounds of conventional treatment failed to keep the cancer at bay, her medical team began exploring more advanced options to save her life.
Introducing the Advanced Cell Therapy to Viet Nam
Faced with a second relapse, doctors at the Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion and Hematology Hospital, led by Professor Phu Chi Dung, decided to pursue CAR-T cell therapy.
This approach is fundamentally different from traditional cancer treatments because it harnesses the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease.
The girl’s T cells, a type of immune cell, were extracted and sent to a laboratory where they were genetically engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs).
These receptors enable the modified cells to recognize and attack leukemia cells with precision. After the CAR-T cells were produced, they were infused back into the patient’s bloodstream, where they began targeting the cancer directly.
What made this case particularly significant was that it became the first time CAR-T cell therapy was successfully applied in a pediatric leukemia patient in Vietnam.
Although CAR-T cell therapy had been used in many developed countries for years, this was the first documented success for such an advanced and complex treatment within the Vietnamese medical system.
It required extensive collaboration with international experts, especially from Taiwan, because of the technical demands and costs associated with producing the modified cells.
The Role of Stem-Cell Transplantation
Stem-cell transplantation played a crucial role in the girl’s treatment history. After her first relapse from chemotherapy, doctors used a haploidentical transplant — a type of stem-cell transplant in which the donor (her father) was only a partial genetic match.
This method is commonly employed in situations where a fully matched donor cannot be found. While the transplant initially helped, the cancer returned, illustrating the need for additional, more powerful therapeutic strategies such as CAR-T therapy.
Standard stem-cell transplants remain a cornerstone of leukemia treatment, as they help replace diseased bone marrow with healthy, blood-producing cells, but they are not always sufficient on their own in high-risk cases.
Recovery and Ongoing Care
More than a year after receiving the CAR-T cell infusion, medical reports indicate that the young girl’s health has stabilized. She continues regular follow-ups at the hospital and shows no signs of active disease at this time.
While long-term monitoring is essential in leukemia cases, the positive outcome has provided her family with much-needed hope.
This successful result has inspired healthcare professionals and families across Viet Nam and the region, as it demonstrates that integrating stem-cell transplantation with advanced immunotherapy can offer renewed hope to patients with previously refractory cancer.
Challenges and Future Prospects
Despite this success, CAR-T cell therapy is not without challenges. The treatment is highly complex and costly, requiring state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and expert personnel.
In this case, some of the CAR-T cell preparation and infusion were conducted abroad because of the high cost and lack of domestic infrastructure capable of producing the modified immune cells.
This situation prompted Vietnamese medical authorities and hospitals to consider developing the capacity to produce CAR-T cells within the country in the future, which could dramatically reduce costs and make the therapy more accessible.
Efforts are already underway to train personnel, upgrade laboratories, and collaborate internationally to bring this capability to Vietnam.
Another important aspect of this breakthrough is its potential to influence national health policy and regulatory frameworks.
Following the public announcement of the treatment success, the Ministry of Health requested a review of CAR-T therapy protocols and regulations, highlighting the need for strong governance in implementing advanced medical treatments safely and ethically.
A New Era in Cancer Treatment in Viet Nam
The story of this 12-year-old girl’s recovery is more than a personal triumph. It represents a significant advancement in Viet Nam’s capacity to treat complex and life-threatening diseases.
By combining traditional stem-cell transplantation with modern immunotherapy like CAR-T cell therapy, Vietnamese doctors have opened a new doorway for cancer treatment.
This case serves as a testament to the progress of medical science in the region and offers hope to many patients and families confronting similar battles in the future.
