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Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT)

Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT): Definition, Mechanism, and Clinical Use

What is Adoptive Cell Therapy?

Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) is a personalized immunotherapy approach used mainly in cancer treatment. It involves collecting a patient’s immune cells, expanding or genetically modifying them ex vivo to enhance their ability to recognize and kill cancer cells, and then reinfusing these enhanced cells into the patient to target tumors more effectively.

How Does ACT Work?

ACT typically follows three steps:

1. Collection: Immune cells, including T cells or natural killer (NK) cells, are harvested from the patient’s blood or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from tumor tissue.
2. Modification and Expansion: These cells are grown in large numbers, sometimes modified with genetic techniques like adding chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to make them target specific cancer antigens, or engineered T cell receptors (TCRs) to recognize tumor peptides.
3. Reinfusion: The activated and modified immune cells are infused back into the patient’s bloodstream, where they seek out and kill cancer cells, bypassing the tumor’s immune evasion mechanisms.

Advantages

• ACT allows the generation of a large, highly active population of tumor-targeting immune cells.
• It is personalized to the patient’s tumor antigens and immune environment.
• Genetic modifications can make cells resistant to inhibitory signals in the tumor microenvironment.
• ACT holds promise in treating various cancers, especially hematologic malignancies and melanoma, with ongoing research in solid tumors.

Challenges and Developments

• Tumor heterogeneity and immune suppression present hurdles for ACT effectiveness.
• Persistence and trafficking of infused cells remain areas of active investigation.
• Combination therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors and cytokines are being explored to enhance durability and potency.

Key Points

• ACT is a personalized cancer treatment that uses enhanced immune cells to attack tumors.
• It involves harvesting, expanding, modifying, and reinfusing immune cells like TILs, CAR-T, or TCR-engineered T cells.
• This therapy offers potent anti-tumor effects and is especially effective in blood cancers.
• Ongoing research aims to overcome challenges like immune evasion and improve clinical outcomes.

Consult with Our Team of Experts Now!

For advanced cancer immunotherapy options including ACT, consult with our oncology specialists to discuss eligibility and tailored treatment plans using Cellular Immunotherapies.

References:

1. Hu Z, Zhang W, Liu Q, et al. Recent advances in adoptive cell therapy for cancer. Trends Cancer. 2025;1(1):20-36. doi:10.1016/j.trecan.2025.01.003. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666634025001047
2. Wang Y, Li X, Liang T. Advances in adoptive cell therapies in cancer. Cell Reports Med. 2025;6(2):100785. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.100785. Available at: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-6340(25)01047-8
3. Johnson LA, Scholler J, Ohkawa R, et al. Emerging trends in clinical allogeneic CAR cell therapy. Lancet Oncology. 2025;26(1):100-112. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00047-4. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(25)00047-4/fulltext
4. Lee DW, Gardner R, Porter DL, et al. A perspective review of adoptive cell therapy in lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2025;43(3):231-242. doi:10.1200/JCO.2024.47.0125. Available at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.34187
5. Liu X, Hu X, Zhang L. CAR-T and CAR-NK therapies in hematologic and solid tumors: progress and perspectives. Front Immunol. 2025;16:1123654. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1123654. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1123654/full