Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have revolutionized the treatment of patients with cancer. These therapies work by collecting a patient’s T cells and engineering them in a laboratory to create CARs that can target specific cancer cells. When infused back into the patient, the CAR T cells hunt and destroy cancer, utilizing the body’s own immune system to kill malignant cells that may otherwise be hidden. In this process, an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is performed to infuse a patient’s stem cells back into their body so healthy cells can be produced. Importantly, using a patient’s own stem cells avoids host rejection.

During a scientific session at the 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 6-9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, experts focused on the promise of allogeneic cellular therapies and explained the complex immunologic challenges that must be overcome to make these therapies available. The presenters included Marco Ruella, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia and Scientific Founder of ViTToria Biotherapeutics, a uCity Square tenant; and May Daher, MD, associate professor in the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

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