Anthony Letai

ArticleOnline nowOpen access Affiliations & Notes 1Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA 2Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA 3Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA 4Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA 5Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA 6Department of Immunology,...

Abstract It took decades from the discovery of BCL-2, initially identified in chromosomal translocations associated with lymphoid malignancies, to understand how BCL-2 and its family members regulate apoptosis, launching a transformative journey in cancer biology often called “the road to ruin”. Developing powerful BCL-2 inhibitors for clinical use required decades. Yet, this remains as one of the most successful achievements in a field that started ~40 years ago, as recounted by its pioneers.

Abstract Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has not yet been realized for T-cell lymphomas (TCL), partially due to challenges in identifying tumor-specific antigens. We previously reported selective expression of CD37 on malignant T cells in a subset of TCL. Herein, we demonstrate CAR-37 T cells specifically target CD37-positive TCL in part by activating the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.