SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dec. 11, 2025 — A patient with synovial sarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer that usually occurs in the large joints of the arms and legs, is the first in Arizona treated with a new immune-cell-therapy known as TECELRA at the HonorHealth Research Institute.
This new cell therapy targets a protein associated with the MAGEA4 gene, which is commonly expressed in synovial sarcoma and often occurs in the extremities, such as in the knees, though it can occur almost anywhere in the body.
"The patient tolerated the cell infusion well, with early signs of tumor shrinkage," said Justin Moser, M.D., an associate clinical investigator in the Research Institute's Oncology Research Division, where he specializes in melanoma. "This drug has been shown to benefit over 40 percent of refractory patients, patients whose cancer has progressed after other treatments, with a significant number of patients having durable benefit lasting a year or more."
Those with refractory synovial sarcoma have a poor prognosis with limited treatment options that typically benefit only 15 percent of patients, said Dr. Moser, who also is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, and an Associate Research Professor at the Arizona State University School of Medicine and Medical Engineering.
This first patient treated with TECELRA was diagnosed in January and was initially treated at the Institute in September.
This new drug is the first and only, one-time treatment for advanced synovial sarcoma that enhances parts of the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. Known as a genetically modified autologous T cell immunotherapy, it is made from the patient's own white blood cells.
Over the course of about 6 weeks, T cells are collected from the patient, engineered in a laboratory to recognize and attack cancer cells, and then infused back to the patient. After receiving the drug, patients are monitored daily at a healthcare facility for at least one week after the infusion and then monitored for months after that.
In previous clinical studies, 39% of patients saw their tumor shrink, and 5% of patients saw their tumor disappear. This drug was approved by the FDA in August, 2024, marking the first time a T-cell receptor gene therapy was approved for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic synovial sarcoma in adults.
