γδ T Cell Cancer Immunotherapy: Evidence-Based Perspectives for Clinical Translation sets out and critically discusses the current clinical and relevant preclinical γδ T cell immunotherapy landscape.
In five chapters, field experts discuss the challenges facing γδ T cell oncoimmunotherapy, propose solutions, and map next steps.
Particular attention is given to summarizing our understanding of the complex, translationally relevant human γδ T cell biology, the evidence basis for designing γδ T cell combination trials and data-driven perspectives on what is known―and what isn’t―about γδ T cell therapeutic persistence. Various perspectives are provided on how issues of cytotoxic effector function, functional exhaustion, and cytokine addiction can be mitigated using gene engineering.
A chapter is dedicated to the systematic review of all γδ T cell immunotherapy trials to date, and the cell therapy products that were used in these trials. The final chapter discusses allograft persistence-enhancement techniques in the context of γδ T cell therapy, covering lymphodepleting chemotherapy and synthetic stealth engineering.
γδ T Cell Cancer Immunotherapy: Evidence-Based Perspectives for Clinical Translation gives an updated and comprehensive insight into the current state of γδT cell immunotherapy, which is of interest to existing translational γδ T cell specialists, the proliferating range of academic scientists and commercial scientists entering the field, as well as clinicians who may encounter γδ T cell immunotherapy in the clinic, or are wishing to familiarize themselves with noncanonical lymphocyte immunotherapy.
- Summarizes the cutting edge of oncology-relevant γδ T cell immunobiology
- Lays out clinical successes and failures to date
- Addresses the possible advantage of combining γδ T cell-based immunotherapy with conventional chemotherapy or checkpoint blockers
- Provides an up-to-date and well-rounded discussion of a translationally, commercially, and scientifically relevant field
Dr. Marta Barisa is a Senior Fellow in Experimental Oncology at University College London (UCL). She is based at the Cancer Section of UCL’s Zayed Centre of the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.
She completed her undergraduate degree at St. George’s Hospital Medical School in London, UK, followed by training in molecular immunology and cellular immunotherapy at UCL, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA. Most of her career has focused on immunotherapy drug development for various oncology indications ― alone or in combination with additional immunotherapeutic, radio- and chemotherapeutic interventions.
For much of her research career she has been based at UCL, which is a world-leading centre for cellular immunotherapy development. It is one of a few institutions dominating global innovation in the space; more than 400 CAR-T patents and 40 patent families have been registered by UCL alone. The Institute of Child Health, where Dr. Barisa is based, is closely associated with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The hospital, with its associated research institute, is Europe’s biggest and highest-ranked centre for paediatric health, excelling particularly with the quality and quantity of its translational research that is coupled to clinical trials.
Dr. Barisa’s specialism rests with the design, development and translation of genetically-modified adoptive cellular immunotherapies for solid tumours. In this capacity she is based across two different immunotherapy groups at UCL: (i) the Innate Immune Engineering Lab, which is focused on allogeneic, gene-modified γδ T cell therapeutic development for adolescent and adult solid cancers, including carcinoma and sarcoma, and (ii) the Experimental Paediatric Oncology Lab, where she evaluates a range of autologous as well as allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) αβ and γδ T cell interventions for their ability to target paediatric neuroendocrine tumours.
Throughout her career, she has woven together academic and commercial cell therapy development. She has held roles in both private biotech companies and academic institutions - often building novel cell therapy concepts in the academic space, and then funding the late-stage development of these with commercial partners. She serves on scientific advisory boards and holds patents pertaining to novel cellular immunotherapy designs and manufacturing methodologies. She lectures on cell therapy development regularly, and is a co-lead of a postgraduate programme for Cell & Gene Therapy at UCL.
