A giant step forward: chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for lymphoma

摘要

The combination of the immunotherapy(i.e.,the use of monoclonal antibodies)and the conventional chemotherapy increases the long-term survival of patients with lymphoma.However,for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant lymphoma,a novel treatment approach is urgently needed.Chimeric antigen receptor T(CAR-T)cells were introduced as a treatment for these patients.Based on recent clinical data,approximately 50%of patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma achieved complete remission after receiving the CD19 CAR-T cell therapy.Moreover,clinical data revealed that some patients remained in remission for more than two years after the CAR-T cell therapy.Other than the CD19-targeted CAR-T,the novel target antigens,such as CD20,CD22,CD30,and CD37,which were greatly expressed on lymphoma cells,were studied under preclinical and clinical evaluations for use in the treatment of lymphoma.Nonetheless,the CAR-T therapy was usually associated with potentially lethal adverse effects,such as the cytokine release syndrome and the neurotoxicity.Therefore,optimizing the structure of CAR,creating new drugs,and combining CAR-T cell therapy with stem cell transplantation are potential solutions to increase the effectiveness of treatment and reduce the toxicity in patients with lymphoma after the CAR-T cell therapy.