In 10 seconds? CAR-T cell therapies have been very effective in treating a variety of leukemias and lymphomas. Recently, new formulations of CAR-T cells have proven successful against another type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma, widening the therapeutic options available for patients.
Can you remind me what CAR-T cells are? Of course! CAR-T cells (chimeric antigen receptor T cells) are created from immune cells called T cells, which can attack and kill problematic cells (Read a digest about CAR-T cells). As each T cell matures, it is ‘programmed’ with the ability to attack one designated target–like a specific type of virus, bacteria, or cancerous protein. However, when CAR-T cells are created in the lab, this natural specificity is overridden by cellular engineering so that the vast majority of a patient’s T cells can kill cancer.
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