A Primer on Chimera Associated Receptor T-Cells

Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death. Although survival rates have improved with current treatments for hematological malignancies, relapsed and refractory cases have poor prognosis. Immunotherapy against cancer cells offer new hope for curative response in these patients. Of those, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells are emerging as promising therapy for hematological malignancies, where T-lymphocytes are genetically engineered with CAR to recognize and eliminate specific tumor cells. The efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy is also being studied in solid tumors. In this review, the basic principles of CAR T-cell therapy are discussed.