Since the first FDA approval in 2017, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has garnered excitement as a potentially curative option for hard-to-treat blood cancers (1). In this therapy, T cells are genetically engineered to recognize specific tumor-surface antigens. When the engineered T cells encounter the target antigen, they proliferate and coordinate an immune response to destroy the cells expressing that antigen. There are six approved CAR-T therapies in the United States that target blood cancers. These “autologous” treatments are manufactured from T cells obtained from the patient and are genetically engineered to express a CAR that recognizes an antigen specific to the patient’s blood cancer.
