At Georg Speyer House in Frankfurt are making use of a new approach in cancer immunotherapy: genetically modified natural killer cells. Using patient-specific tumor cultures, scientists can now run tests in the lab to see how effective the killer cells will be in individual patients.The DKTK is a consortium centered around the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, which has long-term collaborative partnerships with specialist oncological centers at universities across Germany.
For some years now, oncologists have had high hopes of immunotherapy methods that use genetically modified immune cells to specifically recognize and destroy cancer cells. Impressive success stories based on CAR T-Cells have already emerged in the treatment of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. CAR T-Cells carry a genetically modified receptor that recognizes a tumor-specific target. CAR stands for chimeric antigen receptor. These types of CAR molecules are now being developed for natural killer cells (NK cells) as well. They can be obtained from the innate immune system, e.g. from healthy donor cells, which means that the NK cells do not have to be taken from each individual patient before being purified and reintroduced. They can also be used on anyone and it is rare for a patient to reject them.
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