CAR-T cell therapy
A patient’s own immune cells, re-engineered to find and attack a target.
Maturity: Approved in some uses
How it works
T cells are collected from the blood, given a gene for a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that recognises a marker on target cells, multiplied in the lab and infused back into the patient.
Why it matters
CAR-T therapies are approved for several blood cancers, and researchers are testing them in solid tumours and autoimmune diseases.
Limits & open questions
Serious side effects such as cytokine release syndrome, complex manufacturing, cost, and limited success so far in most solid tumours.
Sources
- CAR T Cells: Engineering Patients’ Immune Cells to Treat Their CancersNational Cancer Institute · Institutional · cancer.gov
