CAR T- cells: Novel targeted therapies in cancer

According to the growing developments and improvements of cancer immunotherapies, nowadays, special attention has been paid to the immunotherapies of various types of cancers. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is one of the T-cell therapies that affects tumor cells, not the normal cells. Research conducted over the past decades suggests that CAR T-cell based therapies has revolutionized cancer therapies, and has provided precious achievements in the treatment of hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma, and solid tumors including neuroblastoma and glioblastoma. In this review article, structure, function of CAR T- cells, along with some of the antigens that are expressed on the surface of the tumor cells and the CAR T-cells targeting them are presented. Subsequently, several examples of successful therapies with the help of this technology are presented and finally, the safety of these therapies and the challenges and future perspectives are discussed.