Accelerating Translation of NK Cell Therapies to the Clinic: A European Perspective

Adoptive immunotherapies have emerged as a promising strategy in the treatment of hematological malignancies. To date, seven chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell products have obtained market authorization in Europe for B-cell malignancies, where they have revolutionized treatment for eligible patients. In addition, natural killer (NK) cells and γδ T cells are of particular interest for cell-based therapies due to their strong intrinsic cytotoxicity and favorable safety profile. Addressing challenges facing the clinical translation of NK cell therapies was one of the issues discussed in the NK & ILC Symposium that took place in Freiburg, Germany from March 11 to 13, 2026, as the annual meeting of the NK & ILC study group of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI). Topics ranging from basic immunological research to technological innovations and clinical trial results were discussed during the 3-day conference, spanning over 40 presentations and 100 posters. A highlight of the conference was a workshop featuring short presentations and a panel discussion that focused specifically on the current challenges and future prospects of the clinical implementation of NK cell therapies; the findings of this workshop are summarized in this opinion paper.

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Publication Details

Journal
Human Gene Therapy
Published
2026-08-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10430342261468974
Primary Topic
CAR-T cell therapy research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Accelerating Translation of NK Cell Therapies to the Clinic: A European Perspective

Evelyn Ullrich, Janika Sosat, Harry Dolstra, Ulrike Koehl et al.
Human Gene Therapy
CAR-T cell therapy research
article

Accelerating Translation of NK Cell Therapies to the Clinic: A European Perspective

Evelyn Ullrich, Janika Sosat, Harry Dolstra, Ulrike Koehl, Evren Alici, Pia Kluge, Dominik Schmiedel, Adelheid Cerwenka, Toni Cathomen, Susana Minguet, Jose Francisco Villena-Ossa, Michael O'Dwyer, Éric Vivier, Rizwan Romee, Karl-Johan Malmberg, Jürgen Kuball, Tatjana I. Cornu, Katharina Sophie Fischer, Winfried Stephan Wels, Lea Rebecca Knapp
article en

Abstract

Adoptive immunotherapies have emerged as a promising strategy in the treatment of hematological malignancies. To date, seven chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell products have obtained market authorization in Europe for B-cell malignancies, where they have revolutionized treatment for eligible patients. In addition, natural killer (NK) cells and γδ T cells are of particular interest for cell-based therapies due to their strong intrinsic cytotoxicity and favorable safety profile. Addressing challenges facing the clinical translation of NK cell therapies was one of the issues discussed in the NK & ILC Symposium that took place in Freiburg, Germany from March 11 to 13, 2026, as the annual meeting of the NK & ILC study group of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI). Topics ranging from basic immunological research to technological innovations and clinical trial results were discussed during the 3-day conference, spanning over 40 presentations and 100 posters. A highlight of the conference was a workshop featuring short presentations and a panel discussion that focused specifically on the current challenges and future prospects of the clinical implementation of NK cell therapies; the findings of this workshop are summarized in this opinion paper.

Human Gene Therapy
Goethe University Frankfurt (DE), Oslo University Hospital (NO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), Inserm (FR), University of Freiburg (DE), University of Mannheim (DE), German Cancer Research Center (DE), University of Oslo (NO), Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE), Heidelberg University (DE), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), University Medical Center Freiburg (DE), Institut Gustave Roussy (FR), University Hospital Heidelberg (DE), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Karolinska Institutet (SE), University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US), University Hospital Leipzig (DE), Jena University Hospital (DE), Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (FR), Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (DE), Georg Speyer Haus (DE), University Medical Centre Mannheim (DE), Frankfurt Cancer Institute (DE), Deutsches Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung (DE), Leipzig University (DE)
Deutsche Krebshilfe
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
CAR-T cell therapy research
DOISourceOpenAlex
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