CAR-T
Pronunciation: car-tee
Also written as: CAR-T — chimeric antigen receptor T-cell
Engineered T-cell therapy where patient's T-cells are genetically modified to express chimeric antigen receptors targeting specific cancer antigens.
Full Definition
A form of adoptive cellular immunotherapy involving the genetic modification of a patient's T-lymphocytes to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that can recognize and bind to specific antigens on cancer cells. The process involves collecting T-cells from the patient, transducing them with viral vectors containing the CAR construct, expanding them ex vivo, and reinfusing them into the patient. The CAR construct typically includes an extracellular antigen-recognition domain, a transmembrane domain, and intracellular signaling domains that activate T-cell function upon antigen binding. CAR-T cell therapies have shown remarkable efficacy in certain hematologic malignancies, particularly B-cell lymphomas and leukemias, though they can cause significant toxicities including cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity.
In Context
- "The patient achieved complete remission following CAR-T cell therapy with tisagenlecleucel." — Treatment summary
- "CAR-T manufacturing delays resulted in disease progression during the bridging period." — Clinical case report