The Promise of CAR T-Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells: A Short Review

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of sophisticated tailored immunotherapy used to treat a variety of tumors. Immunotherapy works by utilizing the body's own immune system to discover and destroy malignant cells. In CAR-T therapy, a patient’s own immune cells are genetically engineered to recognize and attack cancer. Treatments employing CAR T-cells are currently showing promising therapeutic results in patients with hematologic malignancies, and their safety and feasibility in solid tumors have been verified. In this review, we will discuss in detail the likelihood that CAR Tcells inhibit cancer stem cells (CSCs) by selectively targeting their cell surface markers will ultimately improve the therapeutic response for patients with various forms of cancer. This review addresses the major components of cancer stem cell (CSC)-targeted CAR T-cells against malignancies, from bench to bedside.