Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is an exciting and rapidly emerging "fifth pillar" treatment for hematologic cancers. Unique treatment-related toxicities and cost remain a major hindrance to its widespread application. The commonly faced challenges with this innovative therapy, its neurotoxicity, and manifestation on neuroimaging studies, are reviewed. ABBREVIATIONS: CAR ϭ chimeric antigen receptor; CRS ϭ cytokine release syndrome; CRES ϭ CART cell related encephalopathy syndrome WHAT ARE CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTOR T-CELLS? Two major types of immunotherapies have been developed during the past decade; 1) monoclonal antibodies agents specific to target tumor, and 2) adoptive T-cell therapy, agents that mount an immune response against tumor cells. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells are the adoptive T-cell therapy agents that are genetically engineered to produce an immune response against tumor cells. 1,2 WHO BENEFITS FROM CAR T-CELL THERAPY? Since 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved 2 CAR T-cell agents for 3 indications: 1) axicabtagene ciloleucel for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 2) tisagenlecleucel for pediatric and young adult leukemia, and 3) tisagenlecleucel for adult non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These therapies target, bind, and destroy cluster of differentiation 19 antigen, predominantly found in B-cell tumors. 3-6
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.