Comedian Louie Anderson — known for his stand-up routines, as well as a hosting stint on “Family Feud,” his animated series “Life With Louie,” and a more recent role on the FX comedy series “Baskets” — died January 21of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. He was 68.
Anderson’s death underscores how deadly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — a cancer of the lymphatic system — can be. We talked with University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center member Manali Kamdar, MD, about the disease, its symptoms, and its treatment. Over the past four years, Kamdar has been the lead investigator on a global, multicenter, phase III clinical study to find out if a medication called Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel) can improve outcomes for patients who don’t respond to the standard-of-care treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy works by removing blood from a patient’s body, enhancing immune cells called T cells to better fight the lymphoma, then re-infusing the cells back into the patient.