Biomedical Seminar “Effect of the tumor microenvironment on immunotherapy with CAR-T cells”

Recent advances in immunotherapy have revolutionized cancer treatment. The use of adoptive cellular therapies (ACTs), such as those based on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) or genetically modified cells (transgenic TCR lymphocytes or CAR-T cells), has shown impressive results in the treatment of several types of cancer. However, many patients do not respond to these therapies or respond only transiently. The failure of immunotherapy to achieve long-term tumor control is multifactorial. Difficulty of lymphocytes to access the tumor bed, metabolic competition, high level of lactic acid secretion and acidification of extracellular pH, shortage of amino acids, hypoxic conditions or accumulation of fatty acids in the tumor microenvironment (TME ), greatly hinder the antitumor action of lymphocytes. In this seminar we will address aspects that may affect the effectiveness of ACT, also indicating possible therapeutic alternatives to overcome these drawbacks.

Date: January 27, 2023 at 12:30 in the Degree Room, Faculty of Medicine