EBMT 2022 | An insight into the use of CAR-NKs for the treatment of AML

Evelyn Ullrich, MD, PhD, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, discusses the current status of chimeric antigen receptor-engineered natural killer cells (CAR-NKs) in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Prof. Ullrich first gives some background information on recent advances in AML treatment, including BCL-2 inhibitors, and the challenges associated with treating elderly patients. Prof. Ullrich then highlights the promising results observed with the use of CARs to treat other B-cell malignancies, and the difficulties associated with treating AML. Following this, Prof. Ullrich describes the benefits of using NK cells, including the lack of adverse events, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) associated with these cells. Prof. Ullrich then explains the promising pre-clinical results that CAR-NKs have demonstrated, including an impressive ability to target and kill AML cells and primary AML blasts. To conclude, Prof. Ullrich explains the high efficiency and interesting results observed when using CD33 CAR-NKs in mouse models, current and future research aims in this field, and the hope for Phase I clinical trials to be available in the near future. This interview took place at the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) 2022, which was held virtually.