Among the most promising tools of cancer therapy, engineered immune cells known as chimeric antigen-receptor (CAR) T cells have already transformed the treatment of blood cancers. Yet, despite their promise, CAR-T cells do have their limitations. For one thing, they’ve so far largely failed against solid tumors, which is to say, most types of cancer. For another, they can inadvertently kill healthy cells along with cancerous ones-or, separately, provoke a systemic immune overreaction-causing serious and sometimes even lethal side effects.
To address these challenges, researchers led by Ludwig Lausanne’s Melita Irving and Greta Maria Paola Giordano Attianese and their colleagues Leo Scheller and Bruno Correia of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne…