A REVIEW ON CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTOR (CAR) T-CELL THERAPY: A PARADIGM SHIFT IN CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY

Abstract

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has become one of the greatest breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy, with the ability to cure patients with leukemias and lymphomas, thus changing the entire approach. The procedure made it possible to overcome the drawbacks of an ordinary T-cell response by turning it into an MHC-independent targeted, cytotoxicity with a patient’s T-cells that are genetically engineered to recognize and eliminate cancer-specific antigens. This review is about CAR-T cell therapy, describing its biological groundwork, the series of CAR constructs, the making process, action mechanism, and present-day FDA-approved clinical use, showing a vast range of information concerning CAR-T therapy. The investigation into the therapeutic advances in the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma is illustrated along with the difficulties presented in the treatment of solid tumors, which are tumor heterogeneity, the problem of immunosuppressive microenvironments, antigen escape, and limited trafficking. The important toxicities of cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity are discussed with a major focus on grading, management strategies, and recent safety-improving developments. Innovations such as dual-target CARs, armored CAR-T cells, allogeneic “off-the-shelf” products, gene-edited CAR-T platforms, and the merging with checkpoint inhibitors point to the rapidly evolving future of this therapy. Finally, CAR-T cell therapy is a game changer in the oncology field, and if continued research expands its application to a greater number of tumors, it will be one of the most personalized, long-lasting, and powerful cancer treatment methods.