Yan Leyfman, Medical Oncologist, Co-Founder and Executive Director of MedNews Week, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Are CAR-NK cells the next evolution of cellular immunotherapy?
While CAR T-cell therapy has transformed the treatment of hematologic malignancies, CAR-natural killer (CAR-NK) cells are emerging as a promising next-generation platform with several potential advantages.
Unlike CAR T cells, CAR-NK cells offer:
- A favorable safety profile with lower rates of severe CRS and neurotoxicity
- Off-the-shelf, allogeneic manufacturing that may improve access and scalability
- Innate anti-tumor activity without prior antigen sensitization
Early clinical trials have demonstrated encouraging responses in hematologic malignancies with minimal severe toxicities.
Challenges remain, including limited in vivo persistence, metabolic constraints, and tumor-induced NK cell exhaustion. However, advances in genetic engineering, cytokine support, and metabolic reprogramming are driving the development of more durable and potent CAR-NK therapies.
As the field continues to evolve, CAR-NK cells have the potential to complement – or in some settings, even expand upon—the success of CAR T-cell therapy, bringing safer and more accessible cellular immunotherapies to patients with blood cancers.
Thank you to Dr. May Daher & team for a compelling review.”
Title: CAR-NK cell therapy for hematological malignancies
Authors: Gohar S. Manzar, Md Faqrul Hasan, Madison Moore, Silvia Tiberti, Rafet Basar, May Daher
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