“A NEW AND UNIQUE WAY TO TREAT CANCER, CAR-T THERAPY IS POISED TO TRANSFORM THE OUTLOOK FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH CERTAIN OTHERWISE INCURABLE CANCERS.”
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy was named by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as its Advance of the Year for 2018.

CAR-T cell technology is an immunotherapy that harnesses potentially the most powerful weapon there is against cancer – the human immune system. CAR-T cells are made from a patient’s own T cells, and so are often referred to as a ‘personalised’ cancer treatment.

Named for the chimera, a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology comprising the body parts of different animals, CAR-Ts have extra parts – genetically engineered receptors designed to recognise and bind to receptors on cancer cells.

So far CAR-T therapy has shown impressive and, in some cases, stunning success against blood cancers.

However, solid tumours make up the majority of cancers diagnosed and, so far, clinical trials of CAR-T therapies targeted against solid cancers have not yielded the same results. Solid tumours present a set of new difficulties in designing effective CAR-T cells.

Most researchers agree there are 2 MAJOR CHALLENGES in designing effective CAR-T cell therapies for solid cancers.
#1 Lack of ideal solid cancer antigen targets

None of the antigens being targeted in solid cancer clinical trials have been specific for solid cancer cells, and there has been little positive data for most of the antigens studied.

Significant on-target off-tumour effects have been recorded where the CAR-Ts have attacked both diseased and healthy cells.

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#2 Limited access of CAR-T cells to tumour tissues

So far it has proven a challenge to deliver clinically effective doses of CAR-T cells to solid tumours or resection (after surgery) sites. One of the issues to overcome is that CAR-T cells often move away from the tumour/resection site before they have had a chance to work.