Archive for car t-cell therapy

AML leukemia cells intermingled with healthy blood stem cells, which are bearing shields.

Making immunotherapy safe for AML

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the second most common leukemia in children, is hard to treat and has a five-year survival rate of just 65 to 70 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. While immunotherapies like monoclonal antibodies or CAR T-cell therapy are effective for certain blood cancers, they have not been possible in AML ... Read More

Tagged: cancer, car t-cell therapy, gene editing, gene therapy, immunotherapy, stem cell transplant

A factory conveyor belt producing CAR T cells, which are piling up in a bin at the end of the belt.

Making ready-made CAR T cells for cancer immunotherapy

Basic/Translational, Research

In CAR T-cell immunotherapy, T cells from a patient’s own blood are engineered to carry so-called chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) that enable the T cells to attack and kill tumor cells. While CAR-T therapy is a powerful approach for certain leukemias and lymphomas, it’s not available for many patients who need it. It can be ... Read More

Tagged: cancer, car t-cell therapy, immunotherapy, leukemia, lymphoma, stem cells

ava, who received car t-cell therapy, waves at the camera. she is wearing a bicycle helmet.

CAR T-cell therapy helps young hockey fan ice pediatric leukemia

Patient Stories

Due to COVID-19, Ava Girolimetti wasn’t sure if she would be starting middle school this year in a classroom, on a computer screen, or a combination of both. But thanks to CAR T-cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), she knew she would be there cancer-free. The rising sixth grader can make this claim as ... Read More

Tagged: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, cancer, car t-cell therapy

‘Nanobodies’ from alpacas could help bring CAR T-cell therapy to solid tumors

Basic/Translational, Research

In 1989, two undergraduate students at the Free University of Brussels were asked to test frozen blood serum from camels, and stumbled on a previously unknown kind of antibody. It was a miniaturized version of a human antibody, made up only of two heavy protein chains, rather than two light and two heavy chains. As ... Read More

Tagged: biomaterials and drug delivery, cancer, car t-cell therapy, drug development

Cole: Having a ball after CAR T-cell therapy

Patient Stories

After undergoing a promising new treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), Cole Malone is back to doing what he loves: playing on a flag football team with his twin brother, Michael. Cole and Michael, 14, already know plenty about teamwork. Michael served as a perfect-match donor when Cole had a stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood ... Read More

Tagged: acute lymphoblastic anemia, cancer, car t-cell therapy, gene therapy