ARTICLE | Translation in Brief
Dodging CARs
How ALL becomes AML to evade CAR T cell therapy
October 13, 2016 7:00 AM UTC
Scientists at NIH's National Cancer Institute have discovered a new way in which acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells become resistant to CAR T cell therapy: by changing into myeloid cells. The results highlight the remarkable plasticity of the tumor type and suggest patients should be tested for the transitioning cells, which may need to be targeted to achieve durable remission.
Despite the high response rates achieved in clinical trials of CAR T cell therapies for ALL, resistant tumor cells frequently emerge, plunging patients into relapse. But how resistance arises is only beginning to be understood. ...