Innovative immunotherapy in the fight against cancer

Abstract

Over the past century, improvements in cancer therapy treatments have accelerated in the form of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy strengthens the body’s innate immune system by utilizing the full potential of T cells, an integral part of the body’s immune function. In more recent years, adoptive cellular therapy which is a form of immunotherapy has become an integral part of cancer therapy because of its specificity and personalized nature. In particular, CAR therapy is making significant progress in part due to its integration of synthetic receptors onto natural T cells. This essentially allows the body’s immune system to identify the advanced T-cell as one of its own but at the same time directly binding to cancer antigens and impairing the cancer cell’s function to reproduce. CAR therapy is currently FDA approved to treat multiple blood cancers including lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and some forms of leukemia.  CAR cells have achieved this success in blood cancers due to the antigens being present and readily detectable in the blood unlike within solid tumors wherein success is currently limited. However, with improvements in design like recognition of unique antigens, cytokine and switch receptors, and trafficking CARS, CAR T cells may ultimately be successful in treating solid tumors. These advancements can usher in a new era of lasting remission for uncurable cancers in the present day.