Cellular Immunotherapy Center

Cellular Immunotherapy Center

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to use the host immune system to direct antitumor responses. Immunotherapy interventions include checkpoint inhibitors, viral therapy, vaccination with peptides and/or dendritic cells, and adoptive cell transfer. In adoptive cell transfer with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, a patient’s own immune cells are collected, genetically modified to target the cancer cells, and reintroduced to the patient. CAR T cell therapy has demonstrated promise in directing antitumor immune responses and has been successfully used in the treatment of B cells malignancies, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia. The success with hematologic malignancies has paved the way for the development of CAR T cells for other cancer types, including solid tumors.

At the heart of this immunotherapy is the chimeric antigen receptor. The receptor is a chimera of different genes — parts that confer immune T cell function combined with parts that confer tumor recognition. The successful combination redirects the CAR T cell to identify and kill the selected antigen represented on (ideally all) tumor cells.

The adoptive CAR T cell process works as follows:

  • Step 1: T cells are isolated from the patient using specialized blood draw.
  • Step 2: Specific T cell populations are selected and activated in the laboratory.
  • Step 3: T cells are genetically engineered to produce chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on the cell surface. Through the CAR, the T cell recognizes and kills tumor cells.
  • Step 4: CAR T cells are grown in the laboratory until they number in the billions.
  • Step 5: CAR T cells are infused back into the patient.
  • Step 6: CAR T cells multiply in the patient’s body, home to tumor sites, and recognize and kill cancer cells.
 

 

The CAR T cell therapy group comprises world class scientific leaders who continue to pioneer and develop breakthrough immunotherapies. City of Hope is one of only a handful of centers in the country that treat cancer using CAR T cell therapy. Success depends on a comprehensive approach by a multidisciplinary team that includes oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurses, social workers and specially trained support staff. City of Hope combines leading-edge research with attentive patient care to deliver groundbreaking CAR T cell treatments for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and solid tumors including prostate and brain cancer.

Highlights

  • Researchers are discovering and applying new T cell therapies by genetically reprogramming T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to tailor the patient’s immune response to their specific cancer.
  • CAR T cell therapy has demonstrated promise in directing antitumor immune responses and has been successfully used in the treatment of B cell malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia.
  • The success with hematologic malignancies has paved the way for the development of CAR T cells for other cancer types, including solid tumors.
  • City of Hope is one of only a handful of centers in the country with FDA approval to treat cancer using CAR T cell therapy in aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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