New approach improves CAR T cancer therapies

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a novel regimen by which oncolytic virotherapy can be used as a potent immunological adjuvant to improve the efficacy of CAR T cell therapy against solid tumors.

Experiments have shown that CAR T cells loaded ex vivo with oncolytic virus (OV) induces a population of CAR T cells with dual specificity against the CAR target tumor antigen and oncolytic viral antigen(s) in vivo, which have improved memory-like differentiation, persistence, and greatly enhanced anti-tumor potency compared to conventional CAR T cells.  Mayo researchers have generated dual specific CAR T (DS CAR T) cells with TCR specificity against either viral, or tumor associated, antigens and have optimized the persistence/longevity/activity of DS CAR T cells through novel boosting strategies, leading to implementation of clinically simple, fully systemic protocols for the combination of CAR T cells with OV which do not require any access to tumors.