Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jan;21(1):47-66.
doi: 10.1038/s41571-023-00832-4. Epub 2023 Oct 30.

CAR T cell therapy for patients with solid tumours: key lessons to learn and unlearn

Steven M Albelda  1   2
Affiliations
Review

CAR T cell therapy for patients with solid tumours: key lessons to learn and unlearn

Steven M Albelda. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have been approved for use in patients with B cell malignancies or relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma, yet efficacy against most solid tumours remains elusive. The limited imaging and biopsy data from clinical trials in this setting continues to hinder understanding, necessitating a reliance on imperfect preclinical models. In this Perspective, I re-evaluate current data and suggest potential pathways towards greater success, drawing lessons from the few successful trials testing CAR T cells in patients with solid tumours and the clinical experience with tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. The most promising approaches include the use of pluripotent stem cells, co-targeting multiple mechanisms of immune evasion, employing multiple co-stimulatory domains, and CAR ligand-targeting vaccines. An alternative strategy focused on administering multiple doses of short-lived CAR T cells in an attempt to pre-empt exhaustion and maintain a functional effector pool should also be considered.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Maude, S. L. et al. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells for sustained remissions in leukemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 371, 1507–1517 (2014). - PubMed - PMC
    1. June, C. H. & Sadelain, M. Chimeric antigen receptor therapy. N. Engl. J. Med. 379, 64–73 (2018). - PubMed - PMC
    1. Majzner, R. G. & Mackall, C. L. Clinical lessons learned from the first leg of the CAR T cell journey. Nat. Med. 25, 1341–1355 (2019). - PubMed
    1. Abramson, J. S. et al. Lisocabtagene maraleucel for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas (TRANSCEND NHL 001): a multicentre seamless design study. Lancet 396, 839–852 (2020). - PubMed
    1. Parikh, R. H. & Lonial, S. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma: a comprehensive review of current data and implications for clinical practice. CA Cancer J. Clin. 73, 275–285 (2023). - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources