CAR-T cell therapy has transformed treatment for some blood cancers, but solid tumors remain difficult to target because they often lack a unique marker that CAR-T cells can recognize. Researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed an experimental approach called SHIFTERS that could overcome this challenge. The technology uses low oxygen levels inside tumors and focused ultrasound as two signals to temporarily make cancer cells display CD19, a marker already recognized by certain CAR-T cells. In laboratory and animal models of brain and liver tumors, this triggered stronger immune attacks and significant tumor shrinkage. Researchers also found that marking only a fraction of tumor cells could activate a broader response. However, SHIFTERS remains experimental and has not yet been tested in humans.
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