CAR T cell therapy has proven effective in treating various haematological cancers. However, not all patients respond equally well to treatment. In a recent clinical study, researchers from the University of Leipzig Medical Center and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology identified several biomarkers that are associated with the response to CAR T cell therapy in multiple myeloma, a malignant tumour disease in the bone marrow. The findings have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Cancer.
CAR T cell therapy involves the collection of immune cells called T cells from the patient. These are genetically modified in the laboratory to carry a receptor on their surface. This receptor enables the immune cell to recognise the cancer cells and initiate their destruction. Despite impressive clinical results, some patients do not respond to CAR T cell therapy. For the first time, a team led by researchers at the University of Leipzig Medical Center has identified biomarkers associated with the success of this therapy in multiple myeloma.
In the clinical study, blood and bone marrow samples from patients with multiple myeloma were taken before and after infusion of CAR T cells and analysed for certain biomarkers. To do this, the cells were subjected to fluorescence-activated cell analysis. The researchers also characterised gene expression, T and B cell receptors and surface proteins at the single cell level.
Original publication in Nature Cancer: Single-cell multiomic dissection of response and resistance to chimeric antigen receptor T cells against BCMA in relapsed multiple myeloma. DOI: 10.1038/s43018-024-00763-8. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43018-024-00763-8
