FAQ: What You Should Know About CAR-T Therapy in Solid and CNS Tumors

Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy engineers a patient's own T cells to express a CAR that recognizes a tumor antigen independent of the major histocompatibility complex, then expands and reinfuses the modified cells to kill antigen-positive cancer cells.¹ In leukemia and lymphoma, CAR T cells encounter their target circulating freely in blood and marrow. Solid and central nervous system (CNS) tumors pose a different problem in that the target sits inside a physical mass the infused cells must reach, penetrate, and survive within, and a 2026 review of the field identifies a persistent lack of specific targets as the field's core obstacle.¹