As an important part of the adaptive immune system, T cells play an essential role in the natural surveillance of and the fight against cancer. Over the last decades, the scientific community has started using T cells as a versatile tool for the development of cancer therapies. One example is the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), which are extracted from the tumor, selected and amplified and finally reintroduced into the patient to fight the cancer. 

Read the most recent interview with ICLE Conference Chair, Dr Adi Barzel, where he is discussing the challenges in T Cell Engineering, in vivo delivery of viral vectors and a lot more exciting topics.

“I believe the answer will be in vivo viral vector injection. This would mean that T cells are engineered inside the body of the patient. There would be no risk of Graft-versus-host disease or rejection and no scalability issues because these are the recipients own T cells. This is a cutting-edge approach, it has many challenges of its own, but this is where I see the future of T cell therapy.”