Chimeric Antigen Receptor News and Research

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EZH2's role in cancer progression and therapy explored

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is a catalytic subunit of the Polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which plays a crucial role in transcriptional repression through the methylation of histone H3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me3).

9 Aug 2024

Enhanced CAR T-cell homing boosts treatment efficacy for osteosarcoma

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T–cell immunotherapy re-engineers a patient's immune cells to target cancer cells.

5 Aug 2024

FDA grants accelerated approval for first engineered T cell therapy to treat adults with synovial sarcoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval for the immunotherapy afamitresgene autoleuecel (Tecelra®, also known as afami-cel) for the treatment of adults with a rare soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma.

2 Aug 2024

Using advanced CRISPR to boost efficiency of CAR-T cell therapies

CAR-T cells are highly effective in treating selected blood cancers. However, challenges remain with this new therapy, which was first approved in 2017 in the USA and a year later in Europe for treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

2 Aug 2024

MD Anderson and collaborators initiate space project to explore T cell behavior in microgravity

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and collaborators are initiating a research project that will send T cells to the International Space Station (ISS) to study the effects of prolonged microgravity on cell differentiation, activation, memory and exhaustion.

31 Jul 2024

Overcoming cancer relapse with CAR-Enhancer therapy

Even as they have revolutionized the treatment of certain forms of cancer, CAR T-cell therapies have been shadowed by a significant limitation: many patients, including those whose cancer goes into full remission, eventually relapse. In a new study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers report on a technique with the potential to eliminate that problem.

29 Jul 2024

Study highlights infection as major post-CAR-T therapy challenge

In patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL), the two hallmark post-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy toxicities are extremely rare after two weeks, supporting a shorter, more flexible toxicity monitoring period, according to a study published in Blood Advances.

25 Jul 2024

Simple blood test may predict CAR-T therapy success in multiple myeloma

A simple blood test that measures the number of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell in the body, may predict whether people who have relapsed multiple myeloma are going to respond well to CAR-T immunotherapy, according to new research from Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia University and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

24 Jul 2024

USC scientists transform B cells into cancer and HIV destroyers

USC scientists have discovered a way to turn the body's B cells into tiny surveillance machines and antibody factories that can pump out specially designed antibodies to destroy cancer cells or HIV, two of medicine's most formidable foes.

22 Jul 2024

Cellular immunotherapy offers hope for solid tumors

Early findings from a small clinical trial provide evidence that a new cellular immunotherapy approach may be effective in treating metastatic solid tumors. In the trial, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) genetically engineered normal white blood cells, known as lymphocytes, from each patient to produce receptors that recognize and attack their specific cancer cells.

12 Jul 2024

Novel Co-STAR cells show promise in targeting and eradicating cancer

Using genetic engineering techniques, investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Ludwig Center, the Lustgarten Laboratory and Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy have designed a novel type of cell to recognize and fight cancer.

11 Jul 2024

Transforming growth factor beta inhibition boosts NK cell therapy against hepatocellular carcinoma

Researchers at University of California San Diego have found that the most common form of liver cancer - one with a high mortality rate - can be better targeted and treated using an innovative new stem cell-derived therapy, according to a recently published study in Cell Stem Cell.

9 Jul 2024

New hope for solid tumors with enhanced CAR-T cells

A promising therapy that treats blood cancers by harnessing the power of the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells could now treat solid tumors more efficiently. Thanks to a recent study published in Molecular Therapy – Methods & Clinical Development from Dan Cappabianca and Krishanu Saha at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy can be improved by altering the conditions the T cells are grown in. And it was all discovered by chance.

3 Jul 2024

Advancements in immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma offer hope to patients

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver cancer predominantly arising from chronic liver diseases such as hepatitis B and C infections, alcohol abuse, and metabolic disorders.

2 Jul 2024

Hesse's LOEWE program supports cutting-edge CAR-T cell therapy research

LOEWE, the federal state of Hesse's research promotion program for the development of scientific and economic excellence, is providing €4.8 million in funding for a new research network spearheaded by Goethe University.

28 Jun 2024

Rice and MD Anderson collaborative harnesses engineering expertise for cancer solutions

Led by Rice's Gang Bao and MD Anderson's Dr. Jeffrey Molldrem, the initiative aims to foster collaboration between the two institutions on fundamental and translational cancer research, to develop new technologies for cancer detection and therapy and to secure external funding in support of further research and training.

27 Jun 2024

Innovative CAR T cell therapy shows promise for relapsed CIDP patients

This study is led by Professor Junnian Zheng and Ming Shi from the Cancer Institute of Xuzhou Medical University, together with the team of Professor Guiyun Cui and Wei Zhang from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University.

20 Jun 2024

Stanford study finds low risk of secondary blood cancers after CAR-T cell therapy

A large study by researchers at Stanford Medicine has found that the risk of secondary blood cancers after CAR-T cell therapy - a cell-based cancer treatment that exploded on the scene in 2017 as a treatment for intractable blood cancers - is low, despite a Food and Drug Administration warning.

12 Jun 2024

First-in-human trial shows safety and efficacy of CAR T cell therapy for advanced prostate cancer

Treating prostate cancer with immunotherapy is currently difficult to do. But results from a first in-human phase 1 trial using a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy developed by researchers from City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, showed that patients with advanced prostate cancer can be treated safely with the cellular immunotherapy with promising therapeutic activity, according to the phase 1 trial study published today in Nature Medicine.

12 Jun 2024

Breakthrough CAR T therapy and shorter targeted therapy durations offer hope for patients with leukemia

The novel anti-CD19 autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy obecabtagene autoleucel (obe-cel) achieved durable remissions in 40% of patients with relapsed or refractory B-ALL without a subsequent stem cell transplant (SCT), according to results from the Phase Ib/II FELIX clinical trial presented today by Elias Jabbour, M.D., professor of Leukemia.

31 May 2024