Mini-reviewRecent clinical trials utilizing chimeric antigen receptor T cells therapies against solid tumors

•Many clinical trials have demonstrated a great potential of CAR-T cell therapy for hematologic malignancies.•Use of CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumors has been hindered by lack of specific tumor antigen.•This paper summarizes the current understanding of CAR-T cell therapies for solid tumors.

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are a series of manufactured receptors that have the capacity of binding to specific antigens expressed on surface of tumor cells. A CAR normally has an extracellular antigen recognition domain derived from single variable chain of a monoclonal antibody, a transmembrane domain and an intracellular T cell activation domain. During the last decade, CAR-T cells were demonstrated to possess great therapeutic effects on hematological malignancies. However, strategies using CAR-T cells to treat solid tumors have been hindered by considerable obstacles including “on tissue off target” effects and cytokine storm syndrome. This review will summarize the current understanding of CAR-T cell therapies and briefly describe the currently enrolled clinical trials in solid tumors.