CAR-T cell therapy attacking cancer cells

CAR-T Cell Therapy: A Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy Game Changer?

Kai Mendoza in Health & Wellness June 2025 • 4 min read.

"Explore how CAR-T cell therapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment with personalized immunotherapy, offering new hope for patients with leukemia and lymphoma."

In the realm of cancer treatment, personalized medicine is rapidly transforming the landscape, offering targeted therapies that are tailored to an individual's unique genetic makeup and disease characteristics. Among these innovative approaches, CAR-T cell therapy stands out as a groundbreaking form of immunotherapy that harnesses the power of a patient's own immune system to fight cancer.

Tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta), two CAR-T cell therapies, have already been licensed for the treatment of specific patient populations with leukemia or lymphoma, marking a significant milestone in the field of personalized cancer treatment. These therapies represent the forefront of a new wave of innovative approaches that are revolutionizing how we combat cancer.

This article delves into the intricate details of CAR-T cell therapy, exploring its innovative mechanism of action, clinical trial results, potential adverse effects, and its anticipated future role in cancer treatment. Discover how this personalized immunotherapy approach is offering new hope to patients with previously limited treatment options.

How Does CAR-T Cell Therapy Work?

CAR-T cell therapy attacking cancer cells

CAR-T cell therapy is a highly personalized treatment approach that involves modifying a patient's own T cells, a type of immune cell, to target and destroy cancer cells. This process begins with harvesting T cells from the patient's blood, followed by genetic modification in the laboratory to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface.

The CAR is engineered to recognize and bind to a specific antigen, typically a protein, that is present on the surface of cancer cells. In the case of tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel, the CAR is designed to target the CD19 antigen, which is commonly found on B cells, including those that become cancerous in certain types of leukemia and lymphoma.

Harvesting T Cells: T cells are collected from the patient's blood through a process called apheresis.
Genetic Modification: In the laboratory, a viral vector is used to introduce the gene encoding the CAR into the T cells. This allows the T cells to express the CAR on their surface.
CAR-T Cell Expansion: The modified T cells, now called CAR-T cells, are expanded in the laboratory to generate a large number of cells.
Infusion into Patient: The expanded CAR-T cells are infused back into the patient's bloodstream.
Cancer Cell Recognition: The CAR-T cells circulate throughout the body, recognizing and binding to the CD19 antigen on cancer cells.
Immune Response Activation: Upon binding to the cancer cells, the CAR-T cells become activated, triggering an immune response that leads to the destruction of the cancer cells.

CAR-T cell therapy represents a paradigm shift in cancer treatment, offering a highly personalized and targeted approach that harnesses the power of the patient's own immune system. By modifying T cells to express CARs that recognize and bind to specific antigens on cancer cells, this therapy can effectively eliminate cancer cells and induce durable remissions in some patients.

The Future of CAR-T Cell Therapy

CAR-T cell therapy is a rapidly evolving field with immense potential to transform cancer treatment. While it has shown remarkable success in treating certain types of leukemia and lymphoma, ongoing research is focused on expanding its application to other cancers, including solid tumors. Overcoming the challenges associated with targeting solid tumors, such as limited CAR-T cell infiltration and immunosuppressive microenvironments, is a key area of investigation.

About this Article -

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Everything You Need To Know

What exactly is CAR-T cell therapy?

CAR-T cell therapy is a type of personalized immunotherapy where a patient's T cells, a type of immune cell, are modified in a lab to target and destroy cancer cells. This involves extracting T-cells from the patient's blood, genetically modifying them to express a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) on their surface, multiplying these cells in the lab, and then infusing them back into the patient. The CAR is designed to recognize a specific antigen on cancer cells, such as the CD19 antigen found on certain leukemia and lymphoma cells. When the CAR-T cells are infused back into the patient, they circulate, bind to the cancer cells expressing the targeted antigen, and trigger an immune response to destroy them.

Why is CAR-T cell therapy considered such a significant advancement in cancer treatment?

CAR-T cell therapy is important because it offers a highly personalized and targeted approach to cancer treatment by leveraging the patient's own immune system to fight the disease. For certain types of leukemia and lymphoma, where other treatments may have failed, CAR-T cell therapy has demonstrated remarkable success in inducing durable remissions. This is particularly significant as it provides new hope for patients with previously limited treatment options. By modifying T cells to express CARs that recognize specific antigens on cancer cells, this therapy can effectively eliminate cancer cells.

What are tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel and why are they important?

Tisagenlecleucel, known as Kymriah, and axicabtagene ciloleucel, known as Yescarta, are two CAR-T cell therapies that have been approved for treating specific populations of patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Both therapies target the CD19 antigen found on cancerous B cells. Their approval signifies a major advancement in personalized cancer treatment, demonstrating the potential of harnessing the immune system to fight cancer. The introduction of these therapies represents a shift towards more tailored and effective cancer treatments.

What does the future hold for CAR-T cell therapy?

The future of CAR-T cell therapy looks promising, as research efforts are focused on expanding its application to other cancers, including solid tumors. Overcoming challenges such as limited CAR-T cell infiltration into solid tumors and immunosuppressive microenvironments is a key area of investigation. Scientists are exploring new CAR designs, combination therapies, and strategies to enhance CAR-T cell persistence and efficacy. As the field evolves, CAR-T cell therapy has the potential to transform the treatment landscape for a wider range of cancers.

Can you walk me through the steps of how CAR-T cell therapy works?

The process involves several key steps: T cells are collected from the patient's blood through apheresis. In a lab, a viral vector introduces a gene encoding the CAR into the T cells, allowing them to express the CAR on their surface. These modified CAR-T cells are expanded in the laboratory to create a large quantity. The cells are then infused back into the patient, where they circulate and recognize the CD19 antigen on cancer cells, triggering an immune response to destroy them. This entire process is highly personalized, using the patient's own immune cells to target and eliminate cancer cells.