T cells can take on a variety of functions in the immune system, but the researchers showed that both study participants had CD4Tremendous impact
Olson and the other participant now have no signs of leukaemia. It’s unclear whether the CAR T cells killed all the leukaemia cells soon after they were introduced, or if the cells that continue to patrol are able to destroy any leukaemia cells before they reach detectable levels.“The potential impact of CAR T is tremendous,” says Nirali Shah, a paediatric haematologist at the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
It remains to be seen, she adds, how well the findings from these two individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia will translate to other diseases. Efforts are under way to use CAR-T-cell approaches to treat solid tumours, such as prostate tumours and the devastating brain cancer glioblastoma.
He tries to give them hope, he says: “If there isn’t a cure for their cancer today, there’s a reasonable chance that around the corner, there’s going to be one.”