A brief overview of CAR-T therapy
Liver cancer is the third most common malignant cancer in the world. It has a very low survival rate. Liver cancer is known to affect both, men and women. In most cases, it is not curable. A diagnosis shows the extent of organ damage and based on the test results, treatment is adviced.
Liver cancer diagnosis
A combination of blood tests, imaging tests, and liver sample testing help to effectively diagnose liver cancer.
Among popular treatment options, targeted tumor based therapy has shown significant results. CAR-T therapy for liver cancer, in particular, is gaining popularity. The therapy is safe and effective for high-risk patients as data shows an 88% complete response rate to manage the condition.
Application of CAR-T therapy for liver cancer
The treatment is primarily effective in treating solid tumors and homological malignancies using certain immunotherapeutic strategies to tackle and break down the cancerous cells by administering the protein antigens. The first process of administration requires doctors to harvest the patients T-cells to which the antigen proteins will be administered. The cells can be easily extracted from the blood of the patient. These T-cells are enhanced with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) to be made ready for infusion. The patient also receives a few rounds of chemotherapy to prepare the immune system for the infusion.
The treatment allows medical professionals to change the structure of a patient’s T-cell and program them to kill the cancer cells. The cells taken from a patient’s blood are synthesized to attack cancer cells internally making CAR-T therapy one of the more effective direct treatments. After infusion, the immune system and CAR-enhanced cells are programmed to identify the cancerous cells and destroy the same with the help of the protein-based antigen. During the process, the healthy cells also multiply rapidly to boost the immune response and attack the malignant cells. The CAR-T therapy for liver cancer effectively utilizes the body’s immune system to fight cancer and reduce the risk of achieving metastasis. Currently, the treatment is one of the more responsive and sought after options in clinical trials for immunotherapy.