Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025
Basic Research in Plasma Medicine - A Throughput Approach from Liquids to Cells
Published on: November 17, 2017
When Onco-Immunotherapy Meets Cold Atmospheric Plasma: Implications on CAR-T Therapies
Xiaofeng Dai1,2, Jitian Li3, Yiming Chen1
1Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
Abstract:
T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) have demonstrated its widespread efficacy as a targeted immunotherapeutic modality. Yet, concerns on its specificity, efficacy and generalization prevented it from being established into a first-line approach against cancers. By reviewing challenges limiting its clinical application, ongoing efforts trying to resolve them, and opportunities that emerging oncotherapeutic modalities may bring to temper these challenges, we conclude that careful CAR design should be done to avoid the off-tumor effect, enhance the efficacy of solid tumor treatment, improve product comparability, and resolve problems such as differential efficacies of co-stimulatory molecules, cytokine storm, tumor lysis syndrome, myelosuppression and severe hepatotoxicity. As a promising solution, we propose potential synergies between CAR-T therapies and cold atmospheric plasma, an emerging onco-therapeutic strategy relying on reactive species, towards improved therapeutic efficacies and enhanced safety that deserve extensive investigations.
Insights
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy shows promise for cancer treatment but faces challenges. Careful CAR design and potential synergies with cold atmospheric plasma may improve efficacy and safety.
Area of Science:
- Immunotherapy
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a potent targeted immunotherapeutic approach for cancer.
- Clinical application of CAR-T cell therapy is limited by concerns regarding specificity, efficacy, and generalization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review challenges in CAR-T cell therapy's clinical application.
- To explore ongoing efforts and emerging strategies to overcome these limitations.
- To propose novel therapeutic synergies for enhanced cancer treatment.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of CAR-T cell therapy challenges and advancements.
- Analysis of emerging oncotherapeutic modalities.
- Exploration of potential synergistic strategies.
Main Results:
- Key challenges include off-tumor effects, solid tumor treatment efficacy, product comparability, co-stimulatory molecule efficacy, cytokine storm, tumor lysis syndrome, myelosuppression, and hepatotoxicity.
- Careful CAR design is crucial for addressing these limitations.
- Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) emerges as a promising complementary therapy.
Conclusions:
- Optimized CAR design is essential for improving safety and efficacy.
- Synergies between CAR-T cell therapy and CAP offer a promising avenue for enhanced cancer treatment with improved safety profiles.
- Further extensive investigations into these combined strategies are warranted.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Tumor Immunotherapy
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
01:27Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
01:30Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...