Frontiers in Immunology (Aug 2024)

Acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia: chimeric antigen receptor technology may offer a new hope

  • Jiajie Jing,
  • Yuan Ma,
  • Ziwen Xie,
  • Bingyan Wang,
  • Yueming Chen,
  • Enjie Chi,
  • Jiadong Wang,
  • Kejin Zhang,
  • Zhujun Wang,
  • Sisi Li

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1410519
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a prevalent malignancy affecting the hematopoietic system, encompassing both B-cell ALL (B-ALL) and T-cell ALL (T-ALL). T-ALL, characterized by the proliferation of T-cell progenitors in the bone marrow, presents significant treatment challenges, with patients often experiencing high relapse rates and poor long-term survival despite advances in chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). This review explores the pathogenesis and traditional treatment strategies of T-ALL, emphasizing the promising potential of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology in overcoming current therapeutic limitations. CAR therapy, leveraging genetically modified immune cells to target leukemia-specific antigens, offers a novel and precise approach to T-ALL treatment. The review critically analyzes recent developments in CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies, their common targets, optimization strategies, clinical outcomes, and the associated challenges, providing a comprehensive overview of their clinical prospects in T-ALL treatment.

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