Adoptive immunotherapy utilizing cancer antigen-specific T-cell receptors

Synthetic immunology based on rapidly-advancing gene-engineering and immunobiology has made novel anticancer adoptive immunotherapies, using gene-modified T lymphocytes to express cancer antigen-specific receptors, a reality. Various technological innovations have overcome recent difficulties and achieved clear and long-lasting clinical efficacy against tumors, while seeking more powerful effector gene-modified T cells has yielded serious treatment-related adverse events. In this article, along with introducing our clinical trial for a novel anti-leukemia adoptive immunotherapy regimen using gene-modified autologous lymphocytes to express leukemia antigen Wilms Tumor 1(WT1)-specific T cell receptor (TCR) against refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), we provide an overview of the current status of this emerging treatment option and discuss its future form in the context of neoantigens encoded by mutated genes in cancer cells and immune checkpoint inhibitors.