ISCT 2021 | Challenges of CAR T-cell therapy for AML: is CD38 the answer?

Lei Yu, MD, PhD, Shanghai Unicar-Therapy Biomed-Pharmaceutical Technology Co. Ltd, China, explains that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have been effective in treating hematologic B-cell malignancies, as they contain several antigens exclusive to the B-cell lineage, such as CD19, that can be targeted without causing significant harm to the patient. A key challenge facing CAR T-cell therapy for AML, however, is the identification of AML-specific target antigens, since myeloid antigens are often co-expressed on healthy bone marrow cells, which when targeted with CAR T-cells can cause fatal myeloablation. CD38 is being investigated as a target antigen for AML CAR T-cell therapy, as it is expressed on AML cells but not healthy bone marrow cells. This interview took place during the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting 2021.