Miguel Bronchud, veteran cancer clinician and researcher, shared on LinkedIn:
“Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), newer constructs such as degrader-antibody conjugates, and CAR-T therapies are being tested in common cancers.
CAR-T therapy involves several sequential steps, from leukapheresis and T-cell activation to genetic modification, ex vivo expansion, lymphodepletion and CAR-T cell infusion.
Colorectal cancer remains one of the common cancers with high mortality rates. Despite advances in conventional treatment modalities, patients with metastatic CRC often face limited options and poor outcomes.
CAR-T cell therapy, initially successful in hematologic malignancies, presents a promising avenue for treating solid tumors, including colorectal cancer.
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a well-established tumor marker frequently overexpressed in CRC and other gastrointestinal malignancies.
In an early Phase I clinical trial published almost ten years ago, the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of CEA-targeted CAR-T therapy were assessed in 10 patients with metastatic CRC.
Several challenges remain before such treatments can become effective in solid cancers, including the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, tumor heterogeneity and physical barriers that limit CAR-T efficacy.
Emerging strategies such as logic-gated and dual-targeting CAR-T cells offer potential approaches to overcoming these hurdles but require adequate clinical testing.
The combination of CAR-T therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance T-cell persistence and tumor infiltration is also being investigated.”
Read more articles about Colorectal Cancer on OncoDaily.
