title: CAR-T cell therapy in gastrointestinal tumors and hepatic carcinoma: From bench to bedside.
abstract: The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is a genetically engineered receptor that combines a scFv domain, which specifically recognizes the tumor-specific antigen, with T cell activation domains. CAR-T cell therapies have demonstrated tremendous efficacy against hematologic malignancies in many clinical trials. Recent studies have extended these efforts to the treatment of solid tumors. However, the outcomes of CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors are not as remarkable as the outcomes have been for hematologic malignancies. A series of hurdles has arisen with respect to CAR-T cell-based immunotherapy, which needs to be overcome to target solid tumors. The major challenge for CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumors is the selection of the appropriate specific antigen to demarcate the tumor from normal tissue. In this review, we discuss the application of CAR-T cells to gastrointestinal and hepatic carcinomas in preclinical and clinical research. Furthermore, we analyze the usefulness of several specific markers in the study of gastrointestinal tumors and hepatic carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Department of Immunology and Research Center of Basic Medical Science, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Diseases of Educational Ministry of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Department of Immunology and Research Center of Basic Medical Science, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Diseases of Educational Ministry of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zimu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Basic Medical College, Weifang Medical University , Weifang, China.
authors.forename: Meiyu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Department of Immunology and Research Center of Basic Medical Science, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Diseases of Educational Ministry of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Shuyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Department of Immunology and Research Center of Basic Medical Science, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Diseases of Educational Ministry of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zhenyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Department of Immunology and Research Center of Basic Medical Science, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Diseases of Educational Ministry of China, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Rongxin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: CAR-T cell; Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR); gastrointestinal cancer; hepatic carcinoma; immunotherapy