Cancer-fighting immune cells could soon be engineered inside our bodies

Cancer-fighting immune cells could soon be engineered inside our bodies

Manufacturing CAR T cells in the laboratory is expensive and time-consuming. An in vivo approach could get the powerful therapy to more people. Manufacturing CAR T cells in the laboratory is expensive and time-consuming. An in vivo approach could get the powerful therapy to more people.

Seven patients at St George’s Hospital in Tooting have received CAR-T therapy for blood cancer, with most now in remission.

One of them, 74-year-old Gordon Macniven, is now back enjoying life, exploring London again after treatment for lymphoma. CAR-T therapy uses a patient’s own engineered immune cells to destroy cancer and is a one-time treatment for certain blood cancers. St George’s is urging eligible patients to consider CAR-T, offering hope when other treatments fail.

Aging May Limit Effective CAR-T Cell Response

Swiss researchers have shown that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy becomes less effective with age due to increasing mitochondrial dysfunction. Importantly, they found that this can be overcome by targeting falling levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a co-enzyme that plays a key role in metabolism. “Our findings strengthen the growing recognition that aging fundamentally reshapes immune cell function and metabolism,”…

Cutting CAR T Costs via Decentralization, Vector-Alternatives, and Artificial Intelligence

High manufacturing costs are limiting patient access to CAR T cell therapies, according to new research, which indicates that decentralization, vector-free modification technologies, and AI would help make production cheaper. Making CAR T therapies is an expensive business. A recent study suggested that producing a single batch can cost anywhere between $170,000 and $220,000, depending on the logistical, processing, and distribution steps involv…

CAR-T cell therapy is a major source of hope in cancer therapy. However, the procedure is complex and expensive. However, this should change by reprogramming the patient's body itself to the active substance factory. (Continue reading)

Cancer is a complex disease that originates in the cells of the body. Every year in Mexico approximately 195.500 cases are detected in their different types; 46 percent of patients die from this cause. On a global scale it is estimated that one in five people will face this disease at some point in their lives. Faced with this scenario, the scientific community is developing an innovative treatment: immune cells that fight cancer from within. Wh…