Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a new type of cancer treatment. During this treatment, healthcare professionals reprogram the immune system to attack cancer cells.
Health care professionals now use CAR T therapy to treat some types of blood cancer. However, scientists are investigating whether or not it may also work in other types of cancer.
This article will explain what CAR T cell therapy is and how it works. It will also examine some possible side effects and the recovery process.
T cells are part of the immune system. They are a type of white blood cell with proteins on the surface that act as receptors.
T cells move through the blood, looking for foreign substances, such as viruses or bacteria. These foreign substances also have proteins on their surfaces. Experts call these proteins antigens.
Immune cell receptors and antigens fit together like a lock and key. Each foreign substance and T cell has a differently shaped antigen or receptor. T cells bind to antigens that fit into their receptor, destroying the foreign substance.
Cancer cells also have antigens. However, T cells rarely have the right receptor to bind to them.
CAR T cell therapy is a way of training the immune system to recognize cancer cells. It is a type of gene or cellular therapy.
Scientists add CARs to a person’s T cells. These new receptors help T cells to bind and destroy cancer cells.
Different types of cancer have different antigens, and scientists must adapt treatment accordingly.
Can this fail?
Success rates vary depending on the type of cancer that a healthcare professional is using to treat T-cell therapy.
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However, the treatment is still very new. THE
Healthcare professionals can use T-cell therapy if traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, are ineffective or if the cancer returns.
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- Breyanzi is for adults with some types of recurrent B-cell lymphoma.
- Tecartus is for adults with recurrent mantle cell lymphoma.
- Kymriah is for people under 25 years of age with leukemia and adults with recurrent large B-cell lymphoma.
- Yescarta is for adults with certain forms of recurrent B-cell lymphoma.
However, the US National Library of Medicine lists more than 600 ongoing clinical trials of CAR cell therapy. Scientists are currently investigating the use of CAR T cell therapy in many types of cancer, including:
- colorectal cancer
- Colon cancer
- ovarian cancer
- pancreatic cancer
- liver cancer
- lung cancer
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- acute myeloid leukemia
- multiple myeloma
According to the American Cancer Society, receiving CAR T cell therapy can take a few weeks.
The process has three steps:
1. T cell collection
Healthcare professionals will collect T cells using an intravenous (IV) line. This can take 2 to 3 hours.
Blood will flow from the person’s body to a machine that will remove white blood cells. T cells are a type of white blood cell. The machine will send the rest of the blood back via another intravenous line.
2. Production of CAR T cells
Healthcare professionals will separate the T cells from the rest of the white cells and send them to a laboratory. The scientists will then add CARs to the cells, creating CAR T cells.
Scientists will wait for the cells to multiply enough to fight cancer cells before returning them. This part of the process can take a few weeks.
3. Infusion of CAR T cells
The next stage will be to insert the new CAR T cells into the person’s bloodstream via another IV line.
Healthcare professionals can recommend chemotherapy first to prepare the immune system for new T CAR cells.
CAR T cell therapy can cause some side effects. The most common side effect is cytokine release syndrome (CRS).
Cytokines are chemical messengers in the immune system that support T cells. Cytokines multiply when CAR T cells enter the body, and this can lead to overproduction of cytokines.
CRS can cause mild symptoms, including:
- nausea
- fatigue
- headache
- chills
- fever
It can also cause some serious symptoms, such as:
- low blood pressure
- fast heartbeat
- heart attack
- cardiac insufficiency
- hypoxia or lack of oxygen in the body’s tissues
- impaired kidney function
- multiple organ failure
Severe CRS can also lead to neurological problems, including:
- language deficiency
- confusion
- delirium
- involuntary muscle contraction
- hallucinations
- indifference
- apprehensions
Severe CRS can be very dangerous. People with severe CRS will need immediate treatment in intensive care. Most symptoms are reversible, but CRS can sometimes be fatal.
People will usually have to stay in the hospital for observation after CAR T cell therapy. The observation period varies from hospital to hospital, but is usually a few weeks.
Side effects can occur 1–21 days after treatment. People are also at increased risk of infection for 28-30 days after the infusion.
CAR T cell therapy is a new cancer treatment that trains the immune system to fight cancer cells. Scientists genetically modify T cells so they can detect and fight cancer cells. Treatment tends to be effective, but it also carries the risk of serious side effects.
CAR T cell therapy is a very new treatment, currently available only for some types of blood cancer. However, hundreds of studies are investigating its use in other types of cancer.