Making Safe and Effective CAR T Cells:How Droplet Digital PCR Can Improve Their Quality Control

摘要

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells first entered US clinics in 2017 (l), and this therapeutic modality holds tremendous potential as one of the most effective forms of personalized cancer care ever to reach patients. The revolutionary impact of CAR T-cell therapy comes from its ability to rewire our own immune defenses to kill cancer cells: It essentially modifies a patient's naturally existing immune cells to boost their recognition and attack of cancer cells so that the person's own immune system can fight the disease (2).Although CAR T-cell therapy is incredibly promising, production of CAR T cells presents unique challenges because these cells can't be treated as a typical drug. They are living cells with unique biology that is not completely under our control — hencethe term "living drug." Consequently, the process of manufacturing CAR T cells requires additional oversight and stringent control to ensure that the cells will be safe and effective.