In August 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a cellular therapy called afamitresgene autoleucel, or afami-cel (Tecelra). This can be used to treat people with metastatic synovial sarcoma, a type of soft tissue sarcoma.
Like CAR-T, Afami-cel is made using a patient’s own T cells, making it an immuno-therapy. T cells are collected from a patient, genetically engineered in a lab, and then infused back into the person. The genetic engineering produces a T-cell receptor that is better able to recognize and bind to the target protein MAGE-A4 in synovial sarcoma cancer cells.
The main difference between this and CAR-T is the target protein can be inside the cell. The target protein does not need to be on the surface of the cell, giving the opportunity for more targets and also more unique targets.
https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2024/fda-tecelra-synovial-sarcoma-mage-a4
