How does cancer treatment affect T-cells?

Cancer treatments help T-cells to recognize and eliminate the harmful tumor. 

For reasons yet unknown, T-cells, which are responsible for killing cancerous cells, are unable to recognize tumor growing in the body. Different cancer treatments work in different ways to make T-cells more effective at identifying and destroying tumor cells. 

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of cancer treatment in which a protein known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) is added to the membrane surface of the T-cell. The T-cells are taken from a patient’s blood, altered in the lab by adding CAR, and then given back to the patient. Doing this helps T-cells attach to cancer cell antigens and destroy the cancer cells. 

On coming in contact with an antigen on a cancer cell, the CAR T-cells get activated and multiply. It also signals other cells of the immune system and instructs them to come to the site of the tumor. The activated T-cells and cytokines or the signaling proteins cause considerable inflammation focused at the cancer cells, causing them to die.