Because most people are vaccinated against tetanus as children, delivering benign bacteria carrying a tetanus antigen into pancreatic tumors makes them visible to memory cells in the immune system, researchers report.
First, the genetically engineered cells became CD8+ killer T cells that wiped out his leukemia. Then they transformed into a stable population of CD4+ helper T cells that continue to circulate in his body.
The cancer researcher and executive vice president of AstraZeneca’s oncology research and development is well known for his role in the development of pivotal breast cancer therapies.
A newly engineered CAR T cell that incorporates a peptide isolated from the venom of the deathstalker scorpion has broad brain tumor–binding capabilities that will be investigated in an upcoming clinical trial.
The immunotherapy, which targets CD22 on cancer cells rather than CD19, might prove useful in patients for whom previous T-cell treatments were unsuccessful.
Researchers in China will use the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit T cells extracted from patients with cancer before those cells are returned to the body to target malignant ones.