City of Hope scientists have combined two potent immunotherapies — an oncolytic virus and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy — to target and eradicate solid tumors that are otherwise difficult to treat with CAR T therapy alone, according to a new Science Translational Medicine study.
In preclinical research that could lead to a clinical trial for patients with intractable solid tumors, City of Hope scientists genetically engineered an oncolytic virus to enter tumor cells and force their expression of CD19 protein on their cell surface. Scientists were then able to use CD19-directed CAR T cells to recognize and attack these solid tumors.
