Work

Immune-Based Approaches for the Treatment of Pediatric Malignancies

Year: 2020

Type: review

Abstract: Immune-based therapies have now been credentialed for pediatric cancers with the robust efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for pediatric B cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), offering a chance of a cure for children with previously lethal disease and a potentially more targeted therapy to limit treatment-related morbidities. The developmental origins of most pediatric cancers make them ideal targets for immune-based therapies that capitalize on the differential expression of lineage-specific cell surface molecules such as antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, or CAR T cells, while the efficacy of other therapies that depend on tumor immunogenicity such as immune checkpoint inhibitors has been limited to date. Here we review the current status of immune-based therapies for childhood cancers, discuss challenges to developing immunotherapeutics for these diseases, and outline future directions of pediatric immunotherapy discovery and development.

Source: Annual Review of Cancer Biology

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-030419-033436

Authors: Kristopher R. Bosse, Robbie G. Majzner, Crystal L. Mackall, John M. Maris

Institutions: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford Medicine, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: CAR-T cell therapy research

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Cancer Institute