Frontiers in Immunology (Jun 2022)

CAR-T Cell Therapy in Hematological Malignancies: Current Opportunities and Challenges

  • Xiaomin Zhang,
  • Xiaomin Zhang,
  • Lingling Zhu,
  • Hui Zhang,
  • Shanshan Chen,
  • Yang Xiao,
  • Yang Xiao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.927153
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy represents a major breakthrough in cancer treatment, and it has achieved unprecedented success in hematological malignancies, especially in relapsed/refractory (R/R) B cell malignancies. At present, CD19 and BCMA are the most common targets in CAR-T cell therapy, and numerous novel therapeutic targets are being explored. However, the adverse events related to CAR-T cell therapy might be serious or even life-threatening, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), CAR-T-cell-related encephalopathy syndrome (CRES), infections, cytopenia, and CRS-related coagulopathy. In addition, due to antigen escape, the limited CAR-T cell persistence, and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a considerable proportion of patients relapse after CAR-T cell therapy. Thus, in this review, we focus on the progress and challenges of CAR-T cell therapy in hematological malignancies, such as attractive therapeutic targets, CAR-T related toxicities, and resistance to CAR-T cell therapy, and provide some practical recommendations.

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