The following is a summary of “Profiling targets and potential target pairs of CAR-T cell therapy in clinical trials,” published in the January 2024 issue of Oncology by Zhang et al.

Since the approval of the pioneering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy in 2017, there has been a surge in CAR-T clinical trials, averaging more than 100 new trials annually worldwide. A comprehensive analysis involving 1,649 clinical studies has been undertaken to investigate potential targets or target pairs utilizing various biotechnological approaches for future clinical applications.

This study employs a data-centric analytical strategy to explore dual-target pairs based on information gleaned from clinical trials. Screening 1,283 non-withdrawn interventional CAR-T clinical trials encompassing 96 distinct targets and 74 target pairs sourced from clinicaltrials.gov, their analysis utilized the Circos plot and temporal network plots to visualize the relationships between targets and indications. Adhering to the assumption that both targets within a pair must aim at the same indication, the researchers inferred five novel target pairs, notably CD19/CD7, CD19/CD5, CD19/CD37, and CD19/BAFFR. 

These inferences were subsequently validated by examining expression patterns, a comprehensive review of existing literature, and an analysis of patent information. This investigation presents a novel approach to profiling targets for CAR-T cell therapy based on clinical trial data. It furnishes valuable insights for researchers and developers in selecting new targets or target pairs for advancing CAR-T cell therapy. The findings serve as a critical reference point, aiding the strategic decision-making process for developing and exploring effective CAR-T cell therapy targets.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1567576923016004