Immunological reset? CAR T-cell therapy shows promise for autoimmune diseases
The immunotherapy led to drug-free remission in 15 adults with treatment-refractory disease, German researchers say.
Novel blood cancer immunotherapies could induce an “immunological reset” in patients with severe and treatment-refractory autoimmune disease, German rheumatologists report.
In a case series of 15 adults — all of whom had failed multiple immune suppressive treatments — the doctors showed that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy led to drug-free remission after an average of 15 months’ follow-up.
“It is a game changer,” said lead researcher Professor Georg Schett, from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
“Of course, more patients need to be treated, but I think the initial signal is not discouraging.”
