Jurassic Park star Sam Neill says he’s cancer-free after gene therapy
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Sam Neill was treated with CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a disabled virus to genetically reprogramme human infection-fighting T-cells.
PHOTO: SAMNEILLTHEPROP/INSTAGRAM
SYDNEY – Actor Sam Neill says he is cancer-free after five years of living with lymphoma, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.
The New Zealander, who starred as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster movie Jurassic Park, revealed in a 2023 memoir he was “possibly dying” with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The 78-year-old said in a recent interview he had lived with the blood cancer for about five years, but his chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped working.
“I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal, obviously,” he told Australia’s 7News channel on April 26.
Neill was treated with CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a disabled virus to genetically reprogramme human infection-fighting T-cells, enabling them to target specific cancers.
“I’ve just had a scan, and there is no cancer in my body – that’s an extraordinary thing,” Neill said.
He is calling on Australian federal and state governments to fund CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancer patients across the country.
Neill’s acting career began in the 1970s and has spanned dozens of roles on TV and in film, including The Hunt For Red October (1990), The Piano (1993) and Peaky Blinders (2013 to 2022).
He reprised the role of Dr Grant in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). AFP
