Smart CARS: optimized development of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell targeting epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) for glioblastoma

In a recent issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, Dr. Johnson and our colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania reported on the rational development and characterization of humanized anti-epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for glioblastoma (1). In this article, the authors describe the successful preclinical validation of a highly-selective humanized anti-EGFRvIII CAR T cell product that is currently employed in a phase I trial open at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California San Francisco for patients with glioblastoma (NCT02209376).