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Regional delivery of hypoxia-responsive CAR T cells improves efficacy for solid tumors

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for solid tumors faces substantial biological and clinical barriers. In a phase 1 clinical trial, we show that a hypoxia-responsive, carcinoembryonic antigen-targeted CAR T cell therapy is safe and elicits meaningful antitumor responses in patients with refractory solid tumors. Efficacy was enhanced when CAR T cells were delivered intraperitoneally, suggesting this approach overcomes regional immunosuppressive barriers.

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Fig. 1: Antitumor responses after I.P. or I.V. delivery of hypoxia-responsive CEA-targeted CAR T cell therapy.

References

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This is a summary of: Gao, Y. et al. Hypoxia-responsive CEA-targeted CAR T cells in CEA-positive solid tumors through intraperitoneal or intravenous infusion: a phase 1 trial. Nat. Cancer https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01124-3 (2026).

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Regional delivery of hypoxia-responsive CAR T cells improves efficacy for solid tumors. Nat Cancer (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-026-01129-y

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