Reuters-Health
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2026 17:50:07 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: CAR-T cell therapy: Not just for cancer
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Health Rounds
Health Rounds
By Nancy Lapid , Health Science Editor
Hello Health Rounds readers! Today we report on testing of new uses for CAR-T cell therapies including a possible breakthrough for patients previously unable to get needed kidney transplants. We also feature a series of promising CAR-T studies in a variety of hard-to-treat rheumatology disorders.
In breaking news: As era of targeted drugs takes hold, more patients are living with cancer ; little-tested spinal cord treatment triggers hope, hype and lawsuits in Brazil ; and US judge blocks Florida lawsuit against group that backs trans youth care.
Also: US Supreme Court backs generic drugmaker in label lawsuit ; Trump cuts off funds to Hawaii Medicaid fraud unit ; US senators question Big Tobacco on lobbying that preceded FDA policy shift ; and US FDA acting chief meets with rare disease groups to mend fences .
In Ebola news: Kenyan President Ruto says US plan to build Ebola facility there is the 'right thing' ; WHO says response to Ebola in DRC is "catching up ; Congo reports attack on Ebola burial team as cases rise and DR Congo team heads to Spain for World Cup build-up despite Ebola cancellation .
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Industry Updates
Otsuka kidney disease drug preserves function in late-stage study.
Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy in UAE and commits 500 million euros in new European tech growth fund .
Lilly licenses Ascidian gene-editing tech to develop kidney disease drugs and is set to halve planned €2.3 billion investment in Germany .
Roche chairman likens US tariff policy to 'blackmail'.
Cigna drops GLP-1 obesity drug coverage for its own employees.
British watchdog recommends AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy.
ADC Therapeutics plunges after deaths in blood cancer drug trial.
Celcuity plunges after breast cancer treatment data disappoints.
Medline draws another US FDA warning over quality lapses.
Parabilis Medicines aims to raise up to $475 million in US IPO.
Alnylam, Inceptive sign up to $2 billion AI drug discovery deal.
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GLP-1 drugs may have a beneficial effect across many types of cancer
REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Brendan McDermid/Combination/File Photo
More than two dozen studies presented at this year's biggest oncology meeting suggested that popular GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes also provide protection against many types of cancer .
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Study Rounds
CAR-T cell therapy permits kidney transplant in hard-to-match patients
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CAR T-cell therapy, originally developed for treatment of blood cancers, can also make kidney transplant possible for patients who ordinarily would not be eligible, researchers have found, in a potential breakthrough for those with few options.
Some individuals with kidney failure are "sensitized," which means their immune system has developed antibodies against foreign tissues – for example, from previous blood transfusions, pregnancies, or transplants - so their body is likely to reject most donor kidneys.
For highly sensitized patients, finding a suitable donor kidney can be difficult or impossible.
In cancer patients, CAR-T cell therapy involves removal of a patient’s immune cells, modification of those cells in the laboratory to teach them to hunt down and destroy cancer cells, and reinfusion into the patient.
Working with highly sensitized patients in need of new kidneys - two in a U.S. hospital and one in Germany - separate teams of researchers were able to modify the patients' immune cells in the lab to reduce their antibody production and then reinfuse the modified immune cells to effectively “reset” their immune system.
All three patients experienced dramatic reductions in the harmful immune antibodies that typically attack donor kidneys.
As a result, all successfully received new kidneys, the two research teams reported on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine .
“This is the first demonstration that CAR T cells can be used not only to treat cancer, but also to help patients who previously had no opportunity to receive a compatible donor kidney,” Dr. Ali Naji of the University of Pennsylvania , who led the care of the two U.S. patients, said in a statement.
“For patients who have spent years on the kidney transplant waiting list, this approach could be transformative.”
?
Read more about kidney transplants on Reuters.com
US kidney transplant inequity narrows for Black patients
Health Rounds: Scientists change kidney blood type, a potential advance for transplant recipients
?
CAR-T cell therapy may improve rheumatological diseases
CAR-T cell therapy is also showing promise for rheumatological disorders where other treatments have failed or stopped working, according to four pilot studies presented at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology meeting in London.
In one study , six patients with rheumatoid arthritis that had not responded to other treatments received mivocabtagene autoleucel, an experimental CAR-T cell therapy being developed by Kyverna Therapeutics. All participants had decreases in disease activity and half of them achieved sustained remission.
At follow-up ranging from 24 to 36 weeks, five of the six patients remained off immunosuppressive therapy, Fredrik Albach of Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin reported at the meeting.
Separately, Yajing Zhang from Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital , China reported on 11 patients with refractory systemic sclerosis, a severe autoimmune disease that causes hardening of tissues. After administering CD19/BCMA CAR-T cell therapy, skin thickness scores and lung tissue scarring improved significantly from baseline.
“By effectively targeting both skin fibrosis and lung progression, this immunological 'reset' strategy offers true curative potential, paving the way for (mid-stage) trials to redefine the future management of this severe disease,” Zhang said in a statement.
Yuichi Maeda of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and colleagues tested the experimental CAR-T cell therapy zorpocabtagene autoleucel from Miltenyi Biomedicine in individuals with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or an autoimmune muscle disease known as idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, in an effort to improve the diversity of healthy bacteria in patients’ intestines.
Overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria “decreased to levels comparable to those of healthy controls after the treatment,” the researchers said, and the immune activity contributing to patients’ symptoms was significantly decreased.
The authors concluded that CAR T-cell therapy reshapes gut microbiota in patients with autoimmune diseases, and these immunomicrobial shifts may support long-term disease remission.
Finally, Xiaobing Wang of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and colleagues reported that use of CAR-T cell therapy in four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or systemic sclerosis resulted in “deep, tissue-level remission.”
?
Read about other potential uses for CAR-T cell therapies on Reuters.com
Small study shows one-time cell therapy can control HIV infection
Kyverna's cell therapy improves mobility in mid-stage study
?
In case you missed it...
Health Rounds: Radiation-emitting implant improves outcomes after brain cancer surgery
Health Rounds: Early childhood screening for type 1 diabetes may be beneficial for patients
?
This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot; additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris.
Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website
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© 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036
Subject: CAR-T cell therapy: Not just for cancer
(Converted from HTML)
Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now.
?
Health Rounds
Health Rounds
By Nancy Lapid , Health Science Editor
Hello Health Rounds readers! Today we report on testing of new uses for CAR-T cell therapies including a possible breakthrough for patients previously unable to get needed kidney transplants. We also feature a series of promising CAR-T studies in a variety of hard-to-treat rheumatology disorders.
In breaking news: As era of targeted drugs takes hold, more patients are living with cancer ; little-tested spinal cord treatment triggers hope, hype and lawsuits in Brazil ; and US judge blocks Florida lawsuit against group that backs trans youth care.
Also: US Supreme Court backs generic drugmaker in label lawsuit ; Trump cuts off funds to Hawaii Medicaid fraud unit ; US senators question Big Tobacco on lobbying that preceded FDA policy shift ; and US FDA acting chief meets with rare disease groups to mend fences .
In Ebola news: Kenyan President Ruto says US plan to build Ebola facility there is the 'right thing' ; WHO says response to Ebola in DRC is "catching up ; Congo reports attack on Ebola burial team as cases rise and DR Congo team heads to Spain for World Cup build-up despite Ebola cancellation .
?
Industry Updates
Otsuka kidney disease drug preserves function in late-stage study.
Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy in UAE and commits 500 million euros in new European tech growth fund .
Lilly licenses Ascidian gene-editing tech to develop kidney disease drugs and is set to halve planned €2.3 billion investment in Germany .
Roche chairman likens US tariff policy to 'blackmail'.
Cigna drops GLP-1 obesity drug coverage for its own employees.
British watchdog recommends AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy.
ADC Therapeutics plunges after deaths in blood cancer drug trial.
Celcuity plunges after breast cancer treatment data disappoints.
Medline draws another US FDA warning over quality lapses.
Parabilis Medicines aims to raise up to $475 million in US IPO.
Alnylam, Inceptive sign up to $2 billion AI drug discovery deal.
?
?
GLP-1 drugs may have a beneficial effect across many types of cancer
REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Brendan McDermid/Combination/File Photo
More than two dozen studies presented at this year's biggest oncology meeting suggested that popular GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes also provide protection against many types of cancer .
?
Study Rounds
CAR-T cell therapy permits kidney transplant in hard-to-match patients
?
CAR T-cell therapy, originally developed for treatment of blood cancers, can also make kidney transplant possible for patients who ordinarily would not be eligible, researchers have found, in a potential breakthrough for those with few options.
Some individuals with kidney failure are "sensitized," which means their immune system has developed antibodies against foreign tissues – for example, from previous blood transfusions, pregnancies, or transplants - so their body is likely to reject most donor kidneys.
For highly sensitized patients, finding a suitable donor kidney can be difficult or impossible.
In cancer patients, CAR-T cell therapy involves removal of a patient’s immune cells, modification of those cells in the laboratory to teach them to hunt down and destroy cancer cells, and reinfusion into the patient.
Working with highly sensitized patients in need of new kidneys - two in a U.S. hospital and one in Germany - separate teams of researchers were able to modify the patients' immune cells in the lab to reduce their antibody production and then reinfuse the modified immune cells to effectively “reset” their immune system.
All three patients experienced dramatic reductions in the harmful immune antibodies that typically attack donor kidneys.
As a result, all successfully received new kidneys, the two research teams reported on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine .
“This is the first demonstration that CAR T cells can be used not only to treat cancer, but also to help patients who previously had no opportunity to receive a compatible donor kidney,” Dr. Ali Naji of the University of Pennsylvania , who led the care of the two U.S. patients, said in a statement.
“For patients who have spent years on the kidney transplant waiting list, this approach could be transformative.”
?
Read more about kidney transplants on Reuters.com
US kidney transplant inequity narrows for Black patients
Health Rounds: Scientists change kidney blood type, a potential advance for transplant recipients
?
CAR-T cell therapy may improve rheumatological diseases
CAR-T cell therapy is also showing promise for rheumatological disorders where other treatments have failed or stopped working, according to four pilot studies presented at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology meeting in London.
In one study , six patients with rheumatoid arthritis that had not responded to other treatments received mivocabtagene autoleucel, an experimental CAR-T cell therapy being developed by Kyverna Therapeutics. All participants had decreases in disease activity and half of them achieved sustained remission.
At follow-up ranging from 24 to 36 weeks, five of the six patients remained off immunosuppressive therapy, Fredrik Albach of Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin reported at the meeting.
Separately, Yajing Zhang from Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital , China reported on 11 patients with refractory systemic sclerosis, a severe autoimmune disease that causes hardening of tissues. After administering CD19/BCMA CAR-T cell therapy, skin thickness scores and lung tissue scarring improved significantly from baseline.
“By effectively targeting both skin fibrosis and lung progression, this immunological 'reset' strategy offers true curative potential, paving the way for (mid-stage) trials to redefine the future management of this severe disease,” Zhang said in a statement.
Yuichi Maeda of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and colleagues tested the experimental CAR-T cell therapy zorpocabtagene autoleucel from Miltenyi Biomedicine in individuals with severe systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, or an autoimmune muscle disease known as idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, in an effort to improve the diversity of healthy bacteria in patients’ intestines.
Overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria “decreased to levels comparable to those of healthy controls after the treatment,” the researchers said, and the immune activity contributing to patients’ symptoms was significantly decreased.
The authors concluded that CAR T-cell therapy reshapes gut microbiota in patients with autoimmune diseases, and these immunomicrobial shifts may support long-term disease remission.
Finally, Xiaobing Wang of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and colleagues reported that use of CAR-T cell therapy in four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus or systemic sclerosis resulted in “deep, tissue-level remission.”
?
Read about other potential uses for CAR-T cell therapies on Reuters.com
Small study shows one-time cell therapy can control HIV infection
Kyverna's cell therapy improves mobility in mid-stage study
?
In case you missed it...
Health Rounds: Radiation-emitting implant improves outcomes after brain cancer surgery
Health Rounds: Early childhood screening for type 1 diabetes may be beneficial for patients
?
This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot; additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris.
Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website
Reuters Health Rounds is sent twice a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here .
Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here . To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here .
This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement .
Terms & Conditions
© 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036