Engineered Immune Cells Offer New Hope in Cancer Treatment

Scientists have developed a new generation of immune cells that could transform cancer therapy. This breakthrough could make rapid, off-the-shelf treatments possible.

“This enables us to do one-step engineering of CAR-NK cells that can avoid rejection by host T cells and other immune cells,” said Professor Jianzhu Chen of MIT’s Koch Institute. “They kill cancer cells better and they’re safer.” In mouse trials, the cells nearly wiped out lymphoma while causing fewer side effects than existing treatments.

Known as CAR-NK cells, these modified “natural killer” cells are designed to seek out and destroy cancer while avoiding rejection by the patient’s own immune system. Unlike traditional CAR-T therapies, which take weeks to produce and can trigger severe immune reactions, these new CAR-NK cells are engineered to hide from the body’s defences while attacking tumours. Researchers believe this advance could soon expand immunotherapy to more cancers — and even to autoimmune diseases like lupus — marking a significant leap forward in precision medicine.