Use of CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia:

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the white blood cells that starts in the bone marrow. The immune system is the body’s defense network that identifies and destroys harmful invaders like viruses, bacteria, and abnormal cells. Immunotherapy is a treatment that helps the immune system work better to find and attack cancer cells. ALL, the most common childhood cancer affecting nearly 3,000 children annually in the US, has been revolutionized by CAR T-cell immunotherapy, offering new hope for treatment resistant cases. ALL is a type of blood cancer that targets the white blood cells called lymphocytes. It is characterized by the rapid production of immature, abnormal lymphocytes that displace healthy blood cells in the bone marrow. Lymphocytes are types of white blood cells essential to the immune system, responsible for fighting infections and cancer. The bone marrow holds these white blood cells along with red blood cells and platelets. ALL usually affects early forms of B cells or T cells. In B cell ALL, the leukemia cells grow out of control and crowd out the normal blood cells. These cancer cells can also hide from the immune system, which lets the disease keep growing.. They do this by changing the proteins on their surface that the immune system usually recognizes. They also release signals called cytokines that suppress immune activity and attract cells that weaken the body’s immune response, such as regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. In addition, the immune cells that should fight leukemia, especially cytotoxic T cells, often become exhausted and stop working properly. This review paper will cover how the use of immunotherapy, specifically CAR T-Cell therapy, can treat this cancer by working with the immune system against the cancerous cells and its current limitations and future innovations.