CAR-T cells and BiTEs in solid tumors: challenges and perspectives

Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells and BiTEs are both immunotherapies which redirect T cell specificity against a tumor-specific antigen through the use of antibody fragments. They demonstrated remarkable efficacy in B cell hematologic malignancies, thus paving the way for the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julien Edeline, Roch Houot, Aurélien Marabelle, Marion Alcantara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-04-01
Series:Journal of Hematology & Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-021-01067-5
Description
Summary:Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells and BiTEs are both immunotherapies which redirect T cell specificity against a tumor-specific antigen through the use of antibody fragments. They demonstrated remarkable efficacy in B cell hematologic malignancies, thus paving the way for their development in solid tumors. Nonetheless, the use of such new drugs to treat solid tumors is not straightforward. So far, the results from early phase clinical trials are not as impressive as expected but many improvements are under way. In this review we present an overview of the clinical development of CAR-T cells and BiTEs targeting the main antigens expressed by solid tumors. We emphasize the most frequent hurdles encountered by either CAR-T cells or BiTEs, or both, and summarize the strategies that have been proposed to overcome these obstacles.
ISSN:1756-8722