Improving CAR T cell therapy for lung and other solid tumors
Official title: Advancing CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors
Funded at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · NIH-11169974 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project works to make CAR T cell therapy more effective for people with lung and other solid tumors by building realistic tumor models and testing ways to overcome the tumors' immune defenses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 14, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $422,500 |
| NIH project number | 5DP5OD031828-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11169974 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with lung cancer or other solid tumors that express the targeted antigens and who meet eligibility for future CAR T clinical trials would be the most likely candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose tumors do not express the targeted antigens or who need immediate standard-of-care treatment are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
Researchers will build the first autochthonous solid tumor model that develops in place and mimics the immune-suppressing environment of human lung cancer. They will use this immunocompetent model to observe how CAR T cells behave inside a realistic tumor setting. The team will test new strategies to help CAR T cells persist and kill tumor cells and will identify which tumor and immune cells block CAR T activity. Results are meant to guide therapies that could later move into human trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable CAR T therapies to control or shrink solid tumors such as lung cancer.
How similar studies have gone: CAR T cell therapy has been highly successful in B cell leukemias, but prior CAR T attempts in solid tumors have largely failed to produce clear clinical responses, so this work is novel in addressing those specific barriers.
Where this research is happening
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ahmed, Jalal — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Ahmed, Jalal
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Remote-controlled PC-CAR T cells for hard-to-treat solid tumors
A new drug-free approach aims to let immune cells recognize and fight certain solid cancers by remotely adjusting their activity against tumor targets.
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Image-guided, flexible CAR T therapy for solid tumors
A new, image-guided CAR T approach uses a universal adaptor to target solid tumors and help predict where therapy goes, aiming to reduce relapse and off-target effects.
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Using tumor-targeting viruses to boost CAR T cell treatment for solid tumors
This work aims to help CAR T cell therapy work better for people with solid tumors by combining CAR T cells with cancer-killing viruses that ramp up the immune response.
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Improving CAR T cell therapy for children with solid tumors
This study is testing a new way to make CAR T cell therapy work better for kids with solid tumors by using special T cells that target a protein called B7-H3, and it aims to see how safe and effective these modified cells are in helping children whose tumors haven't responded to other treatments.
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Using oncolytic viruses to enhance CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors
This study is looking at how using special viruses with CAR T cell therapy might help make the treatment work better for people with solid tumors by helping the CAR T cells find and attack the cancer more effectively.
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Improving CAR T cell therapy for lung cancer
This study is looking at ways to make CAR T cell therapy work better for lung cancer by creating a model that simulates the tumor environment, helping researchers figure out why it struggles with solid tumors and how to improve treatment for patients.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.