CAR-T Therapy: Re-training the Immune System

CAR-T therapy is an advanced cancer treatment that uses a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. Doctors collect T cells from the patient, modify them in a laboratory so they can recognise a target on cancer cells, and then return them to the body. Once infused, these re-engineered cells seek out and destroy cancer cells.

The treatment has shown strong results in certain blood cancers, especially when disease has returned after standard treatments, including B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, several types of lymphoma and multiple myeloma. It carries specific risks, such as cytokine release syndrome and neurological side effects, so it is given in specialised centres. It is not yet used for all blood cancers. In acute myeloid leukaemia, for example, cancer cells closely resemble healthy bone marrow cells, making it difficult to target the disease without harming normal blood production.

Researchers are also exploring CAR-T therapy for solid tumours, but progress is slower because solid cancers suppress immune responses. Ongoing clinical trials aim to improve its safety and effectiveness and make it available to more patients.