Amol Akhade, Senior Consultant at Fortis Hospitals Mumbai, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Don’t Fall for the CAR-T Hype in Solid Tumors
CAR-T therapy transformed hematologic cancers — but the same magic hasn’t translated to solid tumors. Despite clear evidence of engraftment, tumor trafficking, and antigen recognition, robust anti-tumor responses remain rare.
The reasons are biological, not theoretical:
- Antigen loss or heterogeneity leads to immune escape
- The hostile tumor microenvironment suppresses T-cell function
- Severe on-target, off-tumor toxicity limits dosing and persistence
At ESMO2025, the message was sobering yet hopeful.
While no CAR-T has yet been approved for any solid tumor, two other adoptive cell therapies have made real clinical progress:
- Lifileucel (TIL therapy) — FDA-approved for metastatic melanoma
- Afami-cel (TCR-T, MAGE-A4) — FDA-approved for refractory synovial sarcoma
These are not hype headlines — they’re data-driven milestones showing that precision cell therapy for solid cancers is possible when biology is respected.
The next breakthrough won’t come from louder CAR-T headlines, but from deeper science — smarter targets, safer constructs, and better patient selection.
Let’s not fall for the hype. Let’s earn the hope.”
More posts from Amol Akhade.
