Reacción a "Phase 1 trial tests “weaponized” CAR-T cell therapy to improve lymphoma response"

The work is of excellent quality and proposes a new structure that, beyond allowing the recovery of therapeutic options for patients who relapse to a first CAR-T configuration, suggests that these first CAR-Ts can be recovered if combined with a cytokine.  

The work suggests, but does not prove, that adding this double structure (CAR+IL18) could be more effective than the first CAR-T, which is an approved product. However, for the moment what it shows is that it can be a subsequent proposal when the first one fails and suggests that this cytokine that “reinforces” the cellular function can prevent the CAR-T proposal from failing to achieve its objective, which is to eliminate the tumor because it lacks this reinforcement by the microenvironment. 

In any case, the proposal itself fits with the existing evidence, implying that new comparative clinical trials with the approved products may improve the efficacy with respect to the already approved CAR-Ts.