Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells are a promising cancer therapy that are made from the patient’s own T cells, which are reprogrammed to fight their cancer. One of the limitations of CAR-T cell therapy is the ability of these cells to survive long enough to target the entire tumor.

Once injected back into the patient, the CAR-T cells tend to rapidly expand when they become activated by the tumor cells, but eventually die off due to a natural process called activation-induced cell death.

In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, a research team discovered a way to alter CAR-T cells so they can partially avoid activation-induced cell death, which allows them to live longer and better fight off the tumor.