title: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Perspectives on CAR T Cells and Other Cellular Therapies for Hematologic Malignancies.
abstract: Hematologic oncologists now have at their disposal (or a referral away) a myriad of new options to get from point A (a patient with relapsed or poor-risk disease) to point B (potential tumor eradication and long-term disease-free survival). In this perspective piece, we discuss the putative mechanisms of action and the relative strengths and weaknesses of currently available cellular therapy approaches. Notably, while many of these approaches have been published in high impact journals, with the exception of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and of checkpoint inhibitors (PD1/PDL1 or CTLA4 blockade), the published clinical trials have mostly been early phase, uncontrolled studies. Therefore, many of the new cellular therapy approaches have yet to demonstrate incontrovertible evidence of enhanced overall survival compared with controls. Nonetheless, the science behind these is sure to advance our understanding of cancer immunology and ultimately to bring us closer to our goal of curing cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. saar.gill@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Saar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors
keywords: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation; Alloreactivity; Chimeric antigen receptors; Natural killer cells; T cell receptor transgenic T cells; Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes