Natural killer cells show their cancer-fighting worth and are safer compared to T-cell therapies

Recommendable! This is an outlook article. Cancer is history (soon)!

"... CAR-T therapy requires the extraction of an individual’s own T cells and a two-to-four week wait for the cells to be engineered. After the cells are injected back into individuals, at least one-third of recipients develop cytokine release syndrome, in which a rush of inflammatory molecules causes fever, low blood pressure and other symptoms requiring hospitalization. About one-quarter also develop neurotoxicity, which can be life-threatening. All of this makes the price of therapy high — around US$400,000 — and limits it to people who are able to withstand the side effects. ...

NK cells are well-positioned to steal the immunotherapy spotlight away from T cells. NK cells are equipped with cancer-detecting receptors (see ‘Killer at work’). They got their name in the 1970s for their ability to spot infected and cancerous cells, release molecules that poke holes in cell membranes and trigger their targets’ own self-destruction. NK cells also have a reputation for keeping cancer at bay: one study linked high NK-cell activity to a lower likelihood of developing cancer over the subsequent decade. ..."

Natural killer cells show their cancer-fighting worth Although natural-killer-cell therapies are safer than T-cell therapies and offer other advantages, they require upgrades to overcome their limited lifespan and susceptibility to immunosuppression.