Cell-based therapeutics, once very popular, were relegated to background mode
because of the seemingly complex and highly technical nature of producing the cells at
specialized facilities. However, they once again are emerging as promising biomedicines with
the potential to substantially impact cancer. The resurgence in adoptive immunotherapy
comes with renewed interest in our ability to endow cells with novel attributes by genetic
modification. We now have techniques at our disposal to enable the creation of designer
therapeutics since the T cells now are handled beyond simple manipulation with growth
factors. For cellular immunotherapies, T cells can be expanded and manipulated ex vivo prior
to adoptive transfer into the host to achieve a novel immune function and with signaling
capability. Also, genetic engineering of T cells has been successfully implemented to redirect
the specificity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes towards tumor-associated antigens without MHC
restriction. Over 70 Investigative New Drug applications are listed on the Food and Drug
Administration maintained website www.clinicaltrials.gov that involve genetically engineered
T lymphocytes or T cells endowed with chimeric antigen receptors. While the majority of
these trials focus on treatment of hematopoietic diseases generally involving B cells, here, we
focus on the description of clinical trials currently testing these modified T cells in patients
with solid tumors and even more specifically, for those involving treatment of primary
malignant brain tumors.
Keywords: Adenocarcinomas, adoptive immunotherapy, adoptive transfer,
astrocytomas, cellular therapy, chimeric antigen receptor, CTL, cytotoxic
lymphocytes, gliomas, human leukocyte antigens, immunotherapy,
immunotherapy, major histocompatibility complex, melanoma, prostate cancer,
solid tumors, T cell receptor, tumor associated antigens.
