How CAR T-cell therapy works

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that modifies T cells to make them efficient at targeting cancer cells.

Chimeric refers to having parts of different origins. In medicine, it refers to something that is made of different parts. In the case of CAR-T, it is chimeric because it contains cells with different genes than the rest of the person, organ, or tissue.

CAR T-cell therapies are tailored to each person by collecting their own T cells and modifying them in a lab. This process equips the T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on their surface. These CARs are designed to detect and attach to specific proteins, known as antigens, on the surface of cancer cells. 

Before CAR-T the patient receives chemotherapy, the so called lymph depletion. After preparing the body for the procedure, there comes a series of steps. 

The steps of CAR T-cell therapy include: 

1. Collect some of the patient’s blood to gather T cells
2. Make CAR T-cells in the lab by inserting the CAR gene
3. Grow millions of CAR T-cells in a lab
4. Infuse CAR T-cells into the patient
5. CAR T-cells bind to cancer cells and eliminate them