I attended a great table talk by GRF Shiv last week. We discussed some of the advancements and challenges facing cancer research.

Of particular interest is one treatment making the rounds of clinical trials lately based on Car T, or a Chimeric T cell receptor. Car T is, in a sense, a combination of an antibody and T cell. The mutations or specific characteristics of the patient’s cancer are identified and their T cells are selected for modifications. The T cells, using a virus, express receptors for specific cancer cells, which mimics the behavior of the natural monoclonal antibodies produced in the body. These Car T cells can then hunt down the cancer cells and are activated into a killing mode by the instructions given to them. They are then injected into the body where they reproduce.

Specificity is one challenge. How sure are we that the cancer cells we want gone are being targeted correctly? So far trials have been mainly in certain leukemias and lymphomas. There is a lot of potential for research in Car T use in other cancers.

Some reading for additional information: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/health/cancer-cell-therapy-immune-system.html