Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy: An Overview of the Changing Face of Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as the revolutionary cancer treatment method in recent years due to the heartwarming clinical outcomes in several types of hematologic malignancies. Since 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved four CAR T-cell products, including tisagenlecleucel [for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)], axicabtagene ciloleucel (for DLBCL), brexucabtagene autoleucel (for mantle cell lymphoma), and lisocabtagene maraleucel (for DLBCL). The efficacy optimization and toxicity management methods of CAR T-cell therapy are among the most investigated fields of cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, the favorable outcomes achieved by the aforementioned CAR T-cell products in hematologic malignancies have encouraged researchers to bring successful outcomes to solid tumor patients. This study aimed to highlight the outstanding characteristics and the manufacturing process of CAR T-cells and discuss the key lane leading to their clinically approved products.