Immunotherapy is a type of treatment for MBC that increases the immune system’s ability to kill cancer cells. Many immunotherapy treatments are drugs. However, immunotherapy treatments also include cell-based therapies in which immune cells are modified and given to a person with cancer.
Here we highlight different types of cell-based therapies that are being studied in clinical trials for MBC. Some cell-based therapies are generated from a patient’s cells and customized for that specific patient. These include chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, T-cell receptor (TCR) therapy, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy. Other treatments are called “off-the-shelf”, meaning that they are not derived from a patient’s cells and can be given to any eligible patient. Off-the-shelf treatments, which include natural killer (NK) cell therapy and Bria-IMT, have the advantage of being available much more quickly.
Read below for an introduction to immunotherapy and the latest research and clinical trials on different types of cell-based therapy.
Introduction to Immunotherapy and Cell-Based Therapy
- Susan G. Komen: Immunotherapy enhances the immune system’s ability to find and kill cancer cells
- Cancer Research Institute: Cell-based immunotherapy, also called adoptive cell therapy, uses immune system cells to kill cancer cells
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for Immunotherapy
CAR T-Cell Therapy
- American Cancer Society: Cancer-fighting immune cells are modified in CAR T-cell therapy
- Dr. Susan Love Foundation (video): This video shows how CAR-T cell therapy is thought to work in MBC
- City of Hope: CAR T-cell therapy for HER2+ MBC is being tested in a clinical trial
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for CAR T-Cell Therapy
TCR Therapy
- Moffitt Cancer Center: TCR therapy may work better for solid tumors such as MBC
- Akadeum: TCR therapy and CAR T-cell therapy have advantages and limitations
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for TCR Therapy
TIL Therapy
- National Cancer Institute: TIL therapy uses a patient’s own immune cells to treat MBC
- Advanced Breast Cancer: TIL therapy shows promise for treating MBC
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for TIL Therapy
NK Cell Therapy
- Washington University in St. Louis: NK cells can be prepared quicker than other cell-based treatments
- MD Anderson: NK therapy is being studied in clinical trials for breast cancer
- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian: NK cell therapy is being studied in a clinical trial for people with triple-negative MBC
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for NK Cell Therapy
Bria-IMT
- BriaCell: A saliva test helps select the best formulation of Bria-IMT for each patient
- Targeted Oncology: Bria-IMT has benefits in MBC that has spread to the brain
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2024: Bria-IMT shows promise in people with various subtypes of MBC that has spread to the brain
- Current clinical trials: MBC Trials for Bria-IMT
Last Modified on September 3, 2024