Recent developments on checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T cells, and beyond for T cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies against cancer

Abstract

ObjectiveThere was a dire need to construct a review of the recent developments on Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), CAR T Cells, and other approaches for T cell-based immunotherapeutic strategies against cancer as cancer has become one of the most fatal diseases that is responsible for causing several deaths per annum.Data sourcesMultiple published data was acquired from the high-impact factor journal articles.Data summaryMultiple clinical strategies have been in use today such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat cancer of different types. Among novel cancer management strategies, the role of cancer immunotherapy by T cells has become immensely important. Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment approaches and it basically utilizes the body's immune system to treat cancer. At the forefront of this revolution, T cells are considered as the fundamental components of immune system.ConclusionsThe current review explores the therapeutic potential of T cells in the fight against cancer by applying strategies such as various ICIs (PD-1/PD-L1, CTLA-4, TIGIT, BTLA, TIM3, LAG3) and adoptive cell therapy. ICIs stimulate the body's existing anti-tumor T-cell response by the way of removing immune system inhibitors. On the other hand, in adoptive cell therapy (ACT) patient's T cells are modified to identify and attack tumor cells. Furthermore, this review also highlights significant successes that are observed with these therapies, notably PD-1 blockade and CAR T-cell therapy for various tumors. Moreover, this review also explores the potential of therapeutic vaccination, bispecific antibodies and cytokine therapy to enhance the antitumor activity. Therapeutic vaccines expose immune system to various tumor-associated antigens and training it to identify and then attack cancer cells, showing promising results in different types of cancers such as prostate cancer and melanoma. While, cytokine therapy is accompanied by the use of cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2) to stimulate immune cell activity and proliferation, thereby boosting the overall anti-tumor immune response. Lastly, the current review explores the promising future of T cell-based immunotherapy, envisioning advancements in CAR design and gene editing techniques that can enhance efficacy across a broader spectrum of cancers.

Keywords: CAR T cells; T cells; adoptive T cell therapy; cancer; immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).