Redirecting T Cells

The pursuit of tumor-reactive T cells as a cancer therapy has continued unabated since the discovery of the graft-versus-leukemia effect in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.1 Some successes have been noted: the adoptive transfer of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)–specific T cells can prevent and treat post-transplantation lymphomas,2 and the adoptive transfer of in vitro activated and expanded autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after systemic depletion of lymphocytes induces durable complete remissions in some heavily pretreated patients with metastatic melanoma.3 Therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes is difficult and expensive, and it has benefited only patients with melanoma. Redirecting T cells by gene transfer of . . .