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Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cells: Lessons Learned from Targeting of CD19 in B-Cell Malignancies

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Abstract

Adoptive immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor-modified (CAR)-T cells is a rapidly growing therapeutic approach to treating patients with refractory cancer, with over 100 clinical trials in various malignancies in progress. The enthusiasm for CAR-T cells has been driven by the clinical success of CD19-targeted CAR-T cell therapy in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and the promising data in B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Despite the success of targeting CD19 with CAR-T cells in early clinical studies, many challenges remain to improve outcomes, reduce toxicity, and determine the appropriate settings for CAR-T cell immunotherapy. Reviewing the lessons learned thus far in CD19 CAR-T cell trials and how some of these challenges may be overcome will help guide the development of CAR-T cell therapy for malignancies of B-cell origin, as well as for other hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cancers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Kevin A. Hay

  2. Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave., Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Kevin A. Hay & Cameron J. Turtle

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Cameron J. Turtle

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  1. Kevin A. Hay
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Correspondence to Kevin A. Hay.

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Funding

KAH is supported by the University of British Columbia, Clinical Investigator Program Fellowship.

Conflict of interest

KAH declares no conflict of interest. CJT receives research funding from Juno Therapeutics and has received payment for participation on advisory boards and for speaking at educational events. CJT has patents pending related to CAR-T cells.

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Hay, K.A., Turtle, C.J. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cells: Lessons Learned from Targeting of CD19 in B-Cell Malignancies. Drugs 77, 237–245 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-017-0690-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-017-0690-8

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