The immune system works by recognising and attacking a particular substance that does not belong in the body (foreign cells). It does this by finding proteins on the surface of foreign cells, called antigens.
T-cells (a type of immune cell) have receptors that attach to foreign antigens helping to trigger the immune system to destroy the foreign cells. Just as every lock can only be opened with the right key, each foreign antigen has a unique receptor that is able to bind to it.
Cancer cells also have antigens but the immune system has a harder time recognising them as foreign.
If your immune cells (T-cells) do not have the right receptor to find a cancer cell’s antigen, they cannot attach to it to kill the cancer cell.
CAR-T cell therapy is where the patient’s own T-cells are changed in the lab by adding an artificial receptor to the cells (called a chimeric antigen receptor or CAR) to make CAR-T cells. These are then given back to the patient boosting the patient’s immune system to identify the cancer cells and help destroy them.
Different cancers have different antigens so each CAR receptor is made for a specific cancer’s antigen such as in the case of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. This also means that the therapy is targeted and does not damage other cells in the body in the way chemotherapy does.
Studies have shown that CAR-T cell therapy offers an effective treatment for some who have, either not responded to standard chemotherapy or have relapsed. CAR-T treatment is new and currently only available for patients who have identified markers, for example CD19, or for clinical trials and studies open at children’s and young people’s transplant centres that are able to do CAR-T treatments.
Currently these centres are:
- University College London Hospital, London
- Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London
- Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester
- Great North Children’s Hospital, Newcastle
The videos below have been produced by and for families who are having or going to have CAR-T treatment. In these videos, the children have received CAR-T treatment for advanced leukaemia. They show the families perspective on many aspects of the treatment and hope to help others considering or going through the same.
Videos
Our thanks to the families who have contributed and shared their experiences in the making of these videos.
These videos have been produced by Bath Spa University in conjunction with Great Ormond Street Hospital, Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) and Leukaemia Cares.
CCLG makes every effort to ensure that information provided is accurate and up-to-date. We do not accept responsibility for information provided by third parties, including those referred to or signposted to on this page. Information included should be used to supplement appropriate professional or other advice specific to your circumstances.
© 2022 CCLG
This edition: September 2022
Next review date: September 2025
