Immunogenicity in CAR T cell immunotherapy

Abstract

Currently, the most accessible forms of cancer treatment include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, these forms of treatment may damage or destroy healthy tissue as well as cancerous cells, resulting in side effects such as fatigue, hair loss, diarrhea, etc. Immunotherapy, an alternative form of cancer treatment, is a growing treatment method of interest that uses bodily substances made by the body or in a laboratory to boost the immune system’s activity against tumor cells. One type of immunotherapy is CAR T cell therapy, in which a patient’s T cells are genetically modified in a lab to express Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) that help T cells identify and destroy their target. However, because CARs are constructed in the lab and currently consist of non-self components, genetically engineered CAR T cells have the potential to induce anti-CAR immune responses. The following paper will explore the causes of anti-CAR immunity, its possible solutions, and the potential implications of these discoveries.