For decades, researchers have been exploring ways to harness the power of the immune system to treat cancer. One breakthrough is cell therapy, often called ‘living drugs.’ This is a form of immunotherapy that uses immune cells from a patient or a healthy donor. With advanced engineering techniques, scientists enhance these cells to recognize better and attack cancer.

“During the late 1980s and 1990s, cancer researchers started exploring ways to advance immunotherapy by transferring immune cells into a patient to attack cancer cells,” says stem cell transplant and cellular therapy specialist Hind Rafei, M.D. “They recognized that immune cells found inside tumors could help destroy cancer cells, leading to the development of one of the earliest forms of cell therapy — tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).”

Cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses immune cells from a patient or a healthy donor to treat cancer. Learn about the types of cell therapy from stem cell transplant and cellular therapy specialist Hind Rafei, M.D.