'Jurassic Park' actor had stage 3 lymphoma. With new therapy, he's 'cancer-free'

"Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill says he is now cancer-free after undergoing a clinical trial in Australia.

In 2023, Neill revealed he had stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. But in a recent interview with Australia's 7News, actor from New Zealand, 78, said he found success in a clinical trial for treatment after his original chemotherapy stopped working.

"I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy, (which is) pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive," he told the outlet. Once the treatment stopped working, he said, "I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out – which wasn’t ideal obviously."

So he pivoted, taking part in a CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial.

"I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing," Neill said. "It’s science at its best."

So what is CAR T-cell therapy and when does it work best? Here's everything you need to know about this cancer treatment innovation.

What is CAR T-cell therapy?

Chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy for some blood cancers that works by turning your T cells, or white blood cells in your immune system, into "more efficient cancer-fighting machines," according to the Cleveland Clinic.

For some patients, this therapy can cure their cancer. For others, it can help them live longer, the clinic adds.

"CAR T-cell therapy is a newer way to treat some kinds of blood cancer when other treatments aren’t effective or when cancer comes back," the clinic notes.

In the United States, there are six CAR T-cell therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the following types of blood cancers:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Mantle cell lymphoma
• B-cell lymphomas
• Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
• Multiple myeloma

Neill is working with the medical foundation Snowdome to make treatment more accessible for others in Australia, according to 7News.

"I’m very, very excited that this can happen," Neill said of the progress he's seen.

Now that his health has improved, he shared he's ready to get back to Hollywood. "It’s time I did another movie," he added.