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For many people, cancer treatment still means surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. But today, for a growing number of patients, treatment can involve something very different: their own immune cells.
On World Cancer Day, Sophie Servais, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Luxembourg and hematologist at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, explains how this shift is reshaping cancer care and what cellular immunotherapies mean for patients today.
A decade of transformation in cancer care
Over the past decade, cancer treatment has evolved at an unprecedented pace, driven by major scientific advances. Two developments have been particularly transformative: a better understanding of cancer biology and the rise of immunotherapy.
“Today many cancers are no longer defined solely by where they arise in the body, but by the genetic and biological changes that drive their growth”, explains Sophie. “This deeper understanding helps doctors predict how a cancer will behave and choose treatments that are more precisely adapted to each patient.”
In parallel, immunotherapy has reshaped cancer care by mobilising the patient’s own immune system to control cancer. Drug-based immunotherapies have already brought major benefits for patients with many types of cancer.
These treatments activate the immune system, helping the body to recognise and attack cancer. Cellular immunotherapies take this a step further by using the patient’s own living immune cells to target cancer more precisely. “Instead of giving a conventional drug, we use living immune cells that can expand, persist and adapt inside the patient’s body”, adds Sophie.
What are cellular immunotherapies and how do they work?
Current cellular immunotherapies work by collecting immune cells from the patient, enhancing or modifying them in the laboratory, and then reinfusing them. Once back in the body, the cells can actively seek out and destroy cancer cells. This sometimes helps to provide long-lasting disease control.
The most widely used form of cellular immunotherapy today is CAR T-cell therapy. It is based on T cells, a central part of the immune system. In this therapy, T cells are collected from the patient and modified to carry a new receptor, allowing them to recognise and destroy cancer cells more effectively. Once reinfused, they can circulate through the body, detect cancer cells and destroy them.
Other approaches are also being developed. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is particularly relevant for solid tumours, such as melanoma and certain lung or cervical cancers. In this method, doctors isolate immune cells that have already migrated into the tumour and grow many more of them in the lab. These cells are then reinfused into the patient, boosting the body’s natural immune response against the cancer.
TCR-engineered T-cell therapies further expand the range of cancers that can be targeted, many of which would otherwise be harder to treat. This strategy allows immune cells to recognise not only surface proteins, but also small pieces of cancer proteins coming from inside the cell and that are brought to the surface.
Beyond this, researchers are exploring other immune cell types, such as natural killer (NK) cells, as well as new strategies to produce “off-the-shelf” therapies using cells from healthy donors. These innovations aim to make treatments faster to deliver and more widely accessible.
‟ I believe research is one of the strongest weapons we have in the fight against cancer.”
Professor in Medical Oncology
Why these therapies generate so much hope
What makes cellular immunotherapies truly distinctive is that they are not static treatments. Once infused, the cells can multiply, persist and provide long-term immune surveillance. Prof. Servais has observed that, for some patients, a single infusion has been enough to induce deep and durable remissions.
“This has been particularly striking in blood cancers, which are my area of expertise”, notes Sophie Servais. “CAR T-cell therapies have transformed the outlook for some patients with aggressive B-cell lymphomas, certain leukemias and multiple myeloma.”
Initially, researchers tested CAR T-cell therapy in patients whose disease had returned or no longer responded to multiple lines of standard treatment. These patients previously had extremely limited options and very poor prognoses. What clinicians observed was unprecedented. Deep remissions, sometimes lasting for years, and in some cases evidence suggesting cure.
Multiple myeloma offers another powerful example. Long considered incurable, this disease is now one in which cellular immunotherapies can induce durable responses, raising, for the first time, the possibility of cure in a subset of patients.
Over the past decade, CAR T-cell therapies have moved from experimental treatments to part of standard clinical care in Europe, following regulatory approvals. They are now available in specialised centres, including in Luxembourg, for several blood cancers. Importantly, these therapies are increasingly being tested earlier in the disease course, rather than being reserved as a last resort.
“Unlike many cancer treatments that require repeated cycles over months or years, most cellular immunotherapies are delivered as a one-time infusion, followed by careful monitoring. When successful, this can allow patients to return more quickly to daily life and enjoy longer treatment-free periods, with a positive effect on quality of life”, states Prof. Sophie Servais
However, these therapies are not without risks. Because they strongly activate the immune system, they can cause serious side effects, particularly in the short term. For this reason, they must be delivered in expert centres by trained multidisciplinary teams. Today, these risks are much better understood than during the early days of development. Side effects are carefully monitored, management protocols are well established, and safety continues to improve. Research is also increasingly focusing on patients’ long-term well-being after treatment.
‟ What motivates me most is the direct impact on patient’s lives. Working in oncology, and particularly in cellular immunotherapy, means being at the intersection of cutting-edge research and human stories, where progress we make in the labs can truly change the course of a disease for a patient.”
Professor in Medical Oncology
If immunotherapy is becoming a powerful solution in cancer treatment, many biological, clinical and logistical challenges remain. In blood cancers, for example, the central questions are no longer whether these therapies work, but who should receive them, and at what stage of the disease. Identifying the right patient at the right moment has become a key priority, as outcomes are influenced by prior therapies and the functional state of the immune cells.
In solid tumours, cellular therapies are more difficult to implement. Nevertheless, early clinical successes demonstrate that meaningful benefits are possible. Continued research is essential to better understand the complex interactions between solid tumours and the immune system and to further improve outcomes in this field.
On top of that, the complex and costly process of producing cellular immunotherapies still limits how widely clinicians can offer them. Researchers are now exploring ways to make production faster, simpler, and more affordable.
Ongoing advances in cancer biology, immunology, and even Artificial Intelligence are helping scientists develop new therapies that could be more effective and widely accessible in the future.
These scientific advances and remaining challenges underscore the need for sustained research efforts and specialised expertise. To support this mission, the University has established a dedicated Cancer Research Fund. Contributions will help accelerate progress, expand access to emerging therapies, and ensure that future breakthroughs can reach the patients who need them the most.