Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, commonly called CAR T-cell therapy, uses T cells that have been genetically engineered to carry a receptor protein giving them the new ability to target a specific antigen. These receptors are called chimeric because they combine both an antigen binding portion and a T-cell activating portion into a single engineered receptor, which the modified T cells then use to recognize and attack cancer cells carrying that antigen. It is distinct from T-cell receptor T-cell therapy, an earlier form of engineered T-cell treatment that uses the T cell's own natural receptor rather than an artificial chimeric one.