What Does the Future Hold for Immune Effector Cell Therapies?

Following the 2026 National ICE-T Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FHOPA, and Barry Paul, MD, spoke with CancerNetwork^® about high-level takeaways that emerged during the meeting. They discussed how CAR T-cell therapies, bispecific antibodies, and other novel modalities currently fit into the treatment paradigm across multiple myeloma, leukemia, lymphoma, and other hematologic oncology populations.

The experts first discussed ideas from a session dedicated to innovations in CAR T cells and cellular therapies, with Mahmoudjafari emphasizing ongoing work exploring novel constructs such as dual-targeting chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that may overcome antigen escape. According to Paul, a need remains for determining appropriate biomarkers to identify patients who are most likely to derive long-term benefit from agents like ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti).

Regarding another session related to bispecific antibodies and T-cell–engaging agents, Mahmoudjafari described how many new off-the-shelf therapeutic options are challenging clinicians to rethink care delivery models that can provide both high acuity monitoring and outpatient flexibility. Paul also stressed the importance of determining whether fixed-duration therapy with bispecific antibodies may provide similar benefits as indefinite therapy while avoiding the risks of overtreatment.

Looking beyond the most recent meeting in April, Mahmoudjafari and Paul outlined the potential themes of the upcoming National ICE-T Conference in Orlando, Florida, which will take place this July. The next meeting, Mahmoudjafari said, will continue to build upon the field’s shift from innovation to implementation of novel cellular therapies by focusing on operationalizing treatment delivery models across different settings. Paul stated that the meeting in Orlando will help further delineate new targets for developing therapies that may be more effective and less toxic for patients.

Mahmoudjafari is a clinical pharmacy manager in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics at the University of Kansas Health System. Paul is an assistant professor of cancer medicine at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute of Wake Forest University School of Medicine.