Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells: a new therapeutic option for relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies and beyond

peer reviewedChimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a new cancer immunotherapy targeting specific cell surface antigens. This type of adoptive cell immunotherapy has been a breakthrough in the treatment of aggressive B-cell lymphoma and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and is currently also being studied in other cancer types, including multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. This review will discuss the recent clinical developments and future perspectives of CAR T-cell therapy, with a focus on the clinical trials that led to the FDA and EMA approval of tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah®, Novartis) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®, Gilead) for the treatment of childhood/adult relapsed/refractory (r/r) B-cell precursor ALL and aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma