Expert Addresses Role of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Solid Tumors

Prasad S. Adusumilli, MD, FACS, deputy chief, Thoracic Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses where he sees chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy fitting into the treatment landscape for patients with solid tumors.

Adusumilli says it is not just CAR T cells that are important but also what we are learning from checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, the immune microenvironment and the tumors, and the immune resistance mechanism. With a combination of these, Adusumilli says he is optimistic that in the next 5 years, CAR T-cell therapy will play an important role in the treatment of solid tumors.

The main message is choosing the correct antigen and designing a CAR specific to the solid tumor. Delivery of focus for each solid tumor can be different, Adusumilli says. Doing correlative studies is important for the understanding of the changes in the tumor microenvironment. This will help the development of next-generation CAR T cells.

The field is evolving rapidly, says Adusumilli. There is a greater understanding of solid tumor malignancies, and he believes combination immunotherapy will play a role in the treatment landscape moving forward.

<< View more resources and information regarding CAR T-cell therapy