Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia: Possible challenges

Cancer, which is considered one of the most dangerous diseases, can arise from any part of the human body. We are still lacking the effective and curable treatment modalities for many cancers that can affect the life of patients adversely. One such is acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that arises from the myeloid cells due to the somatic gene mutation that can disturb that particular cell lines or many cell lines together, thus causing overcrowding or inhibitory suppression of bone marrow. The biggest challenge that we are facing in terms of AML is not having an effective cure and increasing rates of relapse and recurrence. However, one of the therapeutic methodologies that are emerging nowadays is the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T-cell) which have shown promising results, especially in the case of acute settings such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia and few relapsed cancers such as Ph negative ALL and multiple myeloma. CAR T-cells are the types of living drugs that are prepared from the T cells of patient's bodies and are cultured and grown artificially in the laboratory. They are also provided with artificially engineered receptors so that they identify the specific cancerous cells and kill only them without harming normal cells. No matter how novel it may sound, this modality is also not free from side effects, and some of the severe ill effects have been described and reported with the usage of CAR T-cells. Some of them may include severe cytokine storms, toxicities and failed treatment. Thus, we need to improvise on our techniques and there is a huge scope of future research in making CAR T-cells an effective and regular treatment option for patients suffering from AML.