Marco Ruella, MD, CRI CLIP Investigator University of Pennsylvania Area of Research: Lymphoma When Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) comes back after treatment, it is very difficult to treat. CAR T immunotherapy is a novel type of cancer treatment that re-educates patients’ immune cells to recognize and kill tumor cells. Unfortunately, CAR T therapy often fails because of the very unwelcoming environment around cancer cells that inhibits CAR T cells. Dr. Ruella identified a marker, BTLA, that is expressed in immune cells that drives their inhibition in the HL environment. He proposes that if BTLA could be removed from CAR T cells, this treatment might work better. Therefore, he has created a new kind of CAR T treatment, which he calls TRENTA-CAR T, that targets CD30, a molecule found on the HL cells that do not have BTLA. When testing TRENTA-CAR T in laboratory models, it worked better at fighting cancer than standard therapies. The main goal is now to move this new TRENTA-CAR T treatment to HL patients. In this project, Dr. Ruella will get the necessary approvals to start the trial. This study is positioned to change the outlook for people with HL that has recurred or has not responded to treatment. Projects and Grants BTLA-deleted anti-CD30 chimeric antigen receptor T cells for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: toward clinical translation University of Pennsylvania | Lymphoma | 2024
