Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Cancer Center have created molecular ON-OFF switches to regulate the activity of CAR T cells, a potent form of cell-based immunotherapy that has had dramatic success in treating some advanced cancers, but which pose a significant risk of toxic side effects.

In less than 10 years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have dramatically altered the treatment landscape for patients with metastatic melanoma, helping to drive an improvement in 5-year survival rates from historical levels of less than 10% to more than 50% with some regimens.

Dr Selvaraj describes the future developments in this area, where next-generation nanoparticles could be developed to enhance the active targeting of tumour cells, and the compatibility with other anti-cancer therapies.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) commonly target CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1, which promote inhibitory signals on immune effector T cells against cancer cells. Although ICIs have improved outcomes in several cancers, their use is also associated with significant adverse events (AEs), including death.

CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is an effective treatment for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL).