A new scientific study revealed an innovative technique that helps to overcome the restrictions imposed by the traditional laboratory methods of the production of genetically modified immune cells used to treat cancer.
T cells are adjusted in the genetically immune system to provide them with special receptors that enable them to identify cancer cells and attack them accurately, in what is known as CAR T
This method has proven great success in some types of blood cancers, but it is still limited in solid tumors and faces great productive and financial challenges, and this makes them difficult in some cases.
The researchers affirm that the new approach, which depends on the production of these cells directly within the patient’s body instead of manufacturing them in the laboratory, can make a qualitative shift in the treatment of cancer, thanks to its efficiency, speed of its application and low cost compared to traditional methods.
The study was conducted by researchers from several departments specializing in hematology and tumors at Shanghai Medical University Hospitals in Shanghai and Shandong Province in China, and published in the Jeans & Diseases Journal last August, and wrote about Yurrick Alrt.
Traditional production challenges
Despite the great success of the CART cells in the treatment of bloody tumors, their production in the traditional way outside the body remains complex and costly and takes a long time, usually extends between two and 3 weeks.
Its production includes laboratory several stages: starting with the taking of immune cells from the patient (T -cell isolation), then stimulating them, followed by genetically adjusting them to add special receptors that enable them to attack cancer cells.
Then these cells are doubled in the laboratory, and they are finally tested to ensure their quality and safety before they are injected into the patient’s body.
This method is more difficult because it is made for each patient separately, which limits the possibility of using treatment quickly in rapidly developed diseases, and also limits the ability to meet the needs of all patients in time.
Revolutionary step
The new way to produce the CART cells inside the body represents a promising boom in the treatment of cancer, as it eliminates the need for long and complex stages in the laboratory. Instead of adjusting T cells outside the body, genetic instructions send directly to the T cells in the patient’s body, to be able to identify and attack cancer cells, and this process takes only a few hours.
One of the most prominent advantages of this method is the ability to produce more modified cells easily, while reducing costs compared to traditional methods, in addition to maintaining the efficiency of T cells, and this enhances the effectiveness of treatment, unlike the modified cells in the laboratory whose effectiveness is often under effective.
The study indicates that this treatment is especially promised to treat rapidly developed cancer, and the use of accurate systems based on nanoparticles and viral vectors helps to deliver genetic instructions efficiently to T cells and maintain the stability of their work.
These means have proven high success rates with less risks compared to traditional methods, but this approach remains fraught with important research challenges, such as the possibility of effects on healthy cells, unwanted immune responses, or genetic mutations.
Scientists need more research to ensure the integrity of this method before its adoption and wide use, and its practical success depends on achieving a balance between cost reduction and guaranteeing cell efficiency.