Understand how CAR-T Cell cell therapy against cancer works

CAR-T Cell cell therapy has achieved important results in the treatment of some types of cancer, through the reprogramming of the body's defense cells. CAR-T cellular technology is a type of immunotherapy which uses T lymphocytes, immune system cells responsible for fighting pathogens and infected cells.

The treatment consists of removing and isolating the patient's T lymphocytes, activating them, programming them to be able to identify and fight cancer and then inserting them back into the individual's body. The entire process can take around two months. Therapy is carried out through intravenous infusion.

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The term CAR is an acronym in English for chimeric antigen receptor (in Portuguese, chimeric antigen receptor). OT refers to the T lymphocyte. The CAR-T cell is a T lymphocyte that has undergone genetic modification.

Currently, according to Hospital AC Camargo, a reference center for cancer treatment, the indications already approved and in current use in Brazil are for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, both in the relapsed or refractory scenario of the disease. At public healthcell therapy is still in the development phase in the country.

As a side effect, there may be an inflammatory reaction, with the possibility of fever, a drop in blood pressure and the need for admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Brazil Agencyyou Side effects can lead patients to death.

According to information from AC Camargo, in the first few weeks after infusion of CAR-T cells, the patient may present some neurological symptoms, ranging from milder mental confusion to the presence of convulsive crises.

Difference between treatments

Chemotherapy consists of applying drugs to destroy the cells that form tumors, acting on different stages of cellular metabolism, explains AC Camargo. Immunotherapy is a form of treatment that stimulates the patient's immune system to attack cancer cells.

Treatment with CAR-T cells is a form of immunotherapy, but it uses defense cells that have undergone genetic modification and were reprogrammed in the laboratory to target tumors.