CAR T Cell Therapy for Neuroblastoma

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 9; p. 2380
• Main Authors: Richards, Rebecca M., Sotillo, Elena, Majzner, Robbie G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 16.10.2018
• Subjects: adoptive T cell therapy; CAR T cells; clinical trials; Immunology; immunotherapy; neuroblastoma; pediatric oncology; neuroblastoma; clinical trials; CAR T cells; adoptive T cell therapy; pediatric oncology; immunotherapy
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02380

Patients with high risk neuroblastoma have a poor prognosis and survivors are often left with debilitating long term sequelae from treatment. Even after integration of anti-GD2 monoclonal antibody therapy into standard, upftont protocols, 5-year overall survival rates are only about 50%. The success of anti-GD2 therapy has proven that immunotherapy can be effective in neuroblastoma. Adoptive transfer of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells has the potential to build on this success. In early phase clinical trials, CAR T cell therapy for neuroblastoma has proven safe and feasible, but significant barriers to efficacy remain. These include lack of T cell persistence and potency, difficulty in target identification, and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. With recent advances in CAR T cell engineering, many of these issues are being addressed in the laboratory. In this review, we summarize the clinical trials that have been completed or are underway for CAR T cell therapy in neuroblastoma, discuss the conclusions and open questions derived from these trials, and consider potential strategies to improve CAR T cell therapy for patients with neuroblastoma.