Developing cell-based therapies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) is highly and preferentially expressed on the surface of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, raising the promise of tumor-selective cell-based immunotherapies. In this issue of the JCI, Dai et al. harness PSCA for the development of an off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell-based treatment for PDAC. Through in vitro experiments and in vivo models, the authors demonstrate selectivity and therapeutic efficacy of PSCA CAR_sIL15 iNKT cells against both gemcitabine-sensitive and -resistant PDAC cells with comparable antitumor activity for freshly produced and frozen off-the-shelf PSCA CAR_sIL15 iNKT cells. This development opens another potential therapeutic option for pancreatic cancer.