Research on adoptive cell therapies—where scientists genetically engineer a patient’s own immune cells to target the cell type that causes their symptoms—has led to incredible therapeutic successes in treating liquid tumors, but similar efforts for treating solid tumors have proved less fruitful. A key factor that limits therapeutic efficacy for solid cancers is the overall low levels of cell infiltration into the tumor. Few methods have been developed to ensure that the engineered T cells find their way to the tumor microenvironment, a process called T cell homing. To fill this gap, Susan Thomas, Woodruff Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, developed a microfluidic device that mimics the tumor vasculature.1 Thomas and her team used this device to screen engineered T cells, such as CAR T cells, to find those that could reach solid tumors more effectively in vivo.
This will allow us to optimize cell engineering protocols and improve ...
