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Narrative review summarizes bispecific antibodies and CAR T-cell therapy for advanced lung cancer.

Narrative review summarizes bispecific antibodies and CAR T-cell therapy for advanced lung cancer.
Photo by Dmytro Vynohradov / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Consider bispecific antibodies and CAR T-cell therapy for lung cancer despite noted toxicity and resistance risks.

This narrative review examines emerging immunotherapies, specifically bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. The authors synthesize current evidence regarding efficacy and safety without reporting specific sample sizes or follow-up durations. The scope encompasses both non–small cell and small-cell variants.

Regarding efficacy, the review indicates that bispecific antibodies currently show favorable efficacy and safety in lung cancer. For CAR-T therapy, the authors argue that advances in CAR design and in vivo delivery may broaden the applicability of CAR-T therapy in lung cancer. No pooled effect sizes or statistical comparisons are reported in this synthesis. Data quality varies across the included literature.

Significant limitations and safety concerns are highlighted throughout the text. These include primary and acquired resistance, on-target, off-tumor toxicity, and cytokine release syndrome. Additional challenges involve limited T-cell persistence, insufficient tumor trafficking, and immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment. These factors impact clinical utility.

Practice relevance is described as not reported in the source data. Clinicians should interpret these findings cautiously given the narrative nature of the review and the acknowledged limitations. The evidence does not establish causal relationships or definitive treatment protocols for these modalities. Further context is needed for clinical decision-making.

Study Details

Study typeSystematic review
EvidenceLevel 1
PublishedApr 2026
View Original Abstract ↓
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and continues to impose a major clinical burden, particularly in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Although targeted therapies, antiangiogenic agents, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and antibody-drug conjugates have improved outcomes in selected patients, durable responses remain limited by primary and acquired resistance. Here, we comprehensively review recent progress in immunologically oriented therapeutic strategies for lung cancer, focusing on bispecific antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and emerging in vivo CAR-engineering modalities. We further elaborate on the clinical rationale, latest translational and early clinical evidence, and key challenges, including on-target, off-tumor toxicity, cytokine release syndrome, limited T-cell persistence, insufficient tumor trafficking, and immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment. Taken together, we find that while bispecific antibodies currently show favorable efficacy and safety in lung cancer; advances in CAR design and in vivo delivery may broaden the applicability of CAR-T therapy in this setting.
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