CAR-TCR 2021 | Challenges to address in the CAR-T field

John Rossi, MS, CERo Therapeutics, San Francisco, CA, describes key challenges facing the field of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. A small number of patients respond poorly to CAR T-cell therapies due to poor T cell quality, however, by using allogeneic T cells or introducing cell therapies as second line therapies, T cell fitness can improve. Novel immunotherapies including bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTE), natural killer (NK) cells, CAR macrophages (CAR-M), and natural killer T (NKT) cells can also reduce relapse in patients. Solid tumors also represent an unmet need due to shared antigens between healthy tissues and tumors. This interview took place at the 2021 CAR-TCR Summit 2021.