CAR T- cells are immune cells that are engineered in a laboratory to attack cancer. The therapy has worked as planned for certain blood cancers but to a lesser degree for solid tumors.  This is especially true regarding triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

In a new study recently published in Cancer Letters and reported by Bioengineer.org, Professor Gabriel Duda, the scientific director of Houston Methodist transplant oncology and therapeutics, and his team discovered a new and promising approach that may contain the spread of TNBC. The team found that pairing CAR T-cell therapy with targeted treatments may help to control the recurrence of cancer when alternative options are limited.

A Key Finding

Professor Duda explained that the CAR T-cells are most effective when the cancer burden in other organs is minimal. Using mouse models, the team of researchers found that radiation therapy makes tumors vulnerable. Therefore, a promising strategy would be to use CAR T-cell therapy as soon as possible after the primary tumor’s removal and only small clusters of cancer remain.

The researchers noted that radiation seemed to improve CAR T-cell’s effectiveness when the targets are metastatic (spread) lesions that do not respond to immunotherapy.

Professor Duda further noted that the study gives a better understanding of how and when CAR T-cells may be most effective against aggressive cancers.

The study was conducted while Professor Duda and his team were at Massachusetts General prior to his joining Houston Methodist.