BiTEs and CAR-Ts : immunotherapy in childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer, responsible for the most cancer-related deaths in children. Advances in chemotherapy over the past half-century have steadily increased the remission and survival of children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia to nearly 90%. However, the problems of minimal residual disease and relapsed and refractory disease persist. Personalized, targeted therapies have improved outcomes among the minority of patients for whom chemotherapy is ineffective. Immunotherapy, specifically bispecific T-cell engaging antibody therapy and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, has proven an effective treatment for relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children. These new modalities, however, have also introduced new adverse side effects to the treatment regimen. Though immunotherapy has increased remission and survival, more work must be done to reduce adverse effects and eliminate relapsed and refractory disease.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Besada, Rana Hany

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael T. Hemann.

• Biology.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115699

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/115699