Autologous T-Cell Therapies in Solid Tumor Malignancies: Current Landscape and Future Opportunities

Modified, autologous T-cell immunotherapies have been transformative in the treatment of hematologic malignancies with several approvals of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies to treat lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Treatment in these settings has resulted in durable response rates as high at 80%-90%. These findings have not been replicated in clinical trials of solid tumor malignancies because of the complex tumor microenvironment, antigen heterogeneity, and immunosuppressive mechanisms that hinder antitumor T-cell responses in solid tumors. Several strategies are being investigated and have proven successful in overcoming these hurdles. This paper provides an overview of the current landscape of autologous T-cell therapies, with a particular focus on their use as treatments for refractory solid tumor malignancies, highlighting promising targets being investigated in ongoing clinical trials and toxicities associated with these therapeutic approaches.