CAR-STAb: A Promising Dual-Action Immunotherapy for Resistant B-Cell Leukemia

A study published in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer proposes a new immunotherapy that has shown good results in animal models. It’s called CAR-STAb, and among its advantages is the ability to recruit more of the body’s defensive cells to fight tumor cells.

The work was developed by Luis Álvarez-Vallina, head of the Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Research Unit at the 12 de Octubre University Hospital – Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO); Clara Bueno; and Pablo Menéndez, from the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute. It is published in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. The results of this research are now being submitted for a clinical trial, which will be approved in 2026.

“This is the first time that the potential of this strategy has been demonstrated in B-cell malignancies,” explains Álvarez Vallina, who emphasizes that “this work opens a promising path to offering more effective therapies for patients with leukemia, especially those who are refractory to or evade the control of currently available therapies.”

CAR-STAb harnesses dual targeting and immune cell recruitment to combat therapy-resistant B-cell leukemia, with clinical trials set for 2026

Javier Arroyo, a researcher in Álvarez Vallina’s group at the 12 de Octubre University Hospital, is the first co-author of the study, along with Aida Falgás of the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute. Arroyo emphasizes that “using different mechanisms and different targets helps ensure that, if the tumor cell tries to escape immunotherapy on one hand, you can subdue it on the other. This makes it more difficult for the cell to escape the control of the immune system.”

B cells, or B lymphocytes, are part of the immune system, and their main function is to detect and combat threats to the body. However, when they stop functioning properly, they can also cause diseases, such as B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), a highly aggressive type of blood cancer. It is the most common type of cancer in childhood—it accounts for 35% of pediatric tumors—but it affects people of any age.

Currently, the first-line treatment option for B-ALL is chemotherapy, which involves administering toxins that eliminate tumor cells. When chemotherapy fails, immunotherapy is used, which involves activating the body’s own defenses against the tumor. Specifically, bispecific antibodies are administered, which bring the defensive T lymphocytes into contact with the tumor cells.

Another option is CAR-T cell immunotherapy, which involves extracting T lymphocytes from the patient and modifying them in the laboratory so that, once reinjected, they can recognize and attack the tumor cells.

Both options, bispecific antibodies and CAR-T cells, have improved the treatment of resistant cases of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, some patients remain unresponsive, and more than half of those who do relapse.

CAR-STAb lymphocytes recognize tumor cells through two distinct pathways

The newly published work presents a third approach that combines the previous ones: a CAR-T therapy that produces a bispecific antibody.

The advantages are several. CAR-STAb lymphocytes recognize tumor cells through two distinct pathways, preventing their escape. Added to this is a positive characteristic of bispecific antibodies: their ability to recruit other unmodified T lymphocytes present in the tumor environment, thus increasing the number of defensive cells involved in the fight against cancer.

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(Featured image by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash)

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First published in diariofarma . A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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