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CAR T-Cell Therapy Explained

CAR T-Cell therapy is often referred to as a “living drug” because it harnesses a patient’s own immune cells—specifically T-Cells—and reprograms them to target and destroy cancer. These modified cells take on the role of specialized cancer fighters, enhancing the immune system’s natural defense mechanisms.

Dr. Adan Rios, a medical oncologist at UT Health Houston, describes the process of modifying a patient’s cells with SurvivorNet.

“That process involves taking the immune cells of the patient and taking them to a place where they are prepared in the laboratory, and the cells are, in a sense, educated and trained to recognize the tumor cells. It’s a very complex maneuver, but when it’s done, you’re done. And if you respond to it, then you’re most likely being cured,” Dr. Rios explained.

Under normal conditions, T-Cells patrol the body to detect and eliminate threats like infections and cancer. However, cancer cells can evade detection. CAR T-Cell Therapy addresses this by genetically engineering the patient’s T-Cells to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on their surface.

This process involves using a harmless, modified virus to deliver genetic instructions to the T-Cells. The newly added CARs act like precision-guided sensors, allowing the T-Cells to recognize and bind to specific antigens on cancer cells—much like a key fitting into a lock. Once activated, these engineered T-Cells can seek out and destroy tumor cells with greater accuracy and potency.

“I think it is really important for patients to understand that the goal here is cure, especially for large B-cell lymphoma, Dr. Premal Lulla, hematologist at Baylor College of Medicine, said in an interview with SurvivorNet.

“Most of my patients are inherently motivated as soon as they hear that there’s a potential to be cured, even though X, Y, Z chemotherapy has failed,” Dr. Lulla continued.

Here at SurvivorNet, we want to offer a broad set of resources about CAR T-Cell Therapy alongside other treatments that are used to combat blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.