CAR-T cell therapy in hematology malignancies: breaking barriers, engineering the future

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has emerged as a transformative approach for the treatment of hematological malignancies by enabling the genetic modification of a patient’s own T cells to recognize and eliminate malignant cells in an MHC-independent manner. In this mini review, we provide an overview of the fundamental principles of CAR-T cell therapy and discuss selected combinatorial strategies investigated for the development of next-generation CAR-T products in hematologic malignancies. We also discuss approaches combining CAR-T cells with other therapeutic modalities and consider challenges of this technology and mention potential future directions in the field. The aim is to briefly illustrate how advances in cellular engineering and biological understanding are contributing to the development of CAR-T cell therapies, while providing clinicians and researchers with a concise overview of their application in hematologic malignancies.