UCLA Team Engineers CAR-T Cells to Fight Tough Tumors

Armored CAR-T cells outperform standard therapy in preclinical studies of glioblastoma and ovarian cancer

Published on Mar. 5, 2026

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UCLA scientists have developed a next-generation CAR-T cell therapy that can overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, a protective shield that tumors use to weaken immune cells, block their attack and fuel tumor growth. By equipping CAR-T cells with the ability to block a key tumor-produced protein called VEGF, the researchers gave the engineered immune cells the power not only to attack cancer directly, but also to dismantle the tumor's defenses and restore the immune system's ability to fight back.

Why it matters

Despite the success of CAR-T therapies for certain blood cancers, solid tumors have remained largely resistant. A major reason is that many solid tumors create an immunosuppressive microenvironment that blocks immune cells and protects the tumor. This new approach aims to both enhance the function of CAR-T cells and boost the anti-tumor activity of endogenous, or naturally occurring, immune cells in the body.

The details

The UCLA team developed CAR-T cells engineered to secrete a small antibody fragment that specifically blocks VEGF, a protein produced by many tumors that fuels the growth of new blood vessels, helps cancer survive in low-oxygen conditions, and strengthens the tumor's protective shield against immune attacks. In preclinical studies using mouse models of glioblastoma and ovarian cancer, the armored CAR-T cells outperformed standard CAR-T cell therapy as well as CAR-T cells combined with systemic anti-VEGF antibodies, significantly reducing tumor growth and extending survival.

  • The study was published in Science Translational Medicine in 2026.

The players

Yvonne Chen

Co-director of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior author of the study.

Sanaz Memarzadeh

Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and co-author on the study.

Torahito Gao

Graduate student in the Chen Laboratory and first author of the study.

Han-Chung Wu

Researcher at Academia Sinica in Taiwan who collaborated with the UCLA team to develop the VEGF-blocking antibody fragment.

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What they’re saying

“Despite the success of CAR-T therapies for certain blood cancers, solid tumors have remained largely resistant. A major reason is that many solid tumors create an immunosuppressive microenvironment that blocks immune cells and protects the tumor. By equipping CAR-T cells to modify the tumor microenvironment, we aim to both enhance the function of CAR-T cells and boost the anti-tumor activity of endogenous, or naturally occurring, immune cells in the body.”

— Yvonne Chen, Co-director of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (Mirage News)

“Ovarian cancer and glioblastoma, for example, are aggressive cancers that often recur despite standard therapies, and at that point, there are very few effective treatment options. In this state, current therapies may slow disease progression but rarely lead to long-term remission, highlighting the urgent need for new approaches that can overcome tumor defenses and improve patient outcomes.”

— Sanaz Memarzadeh, Professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (Mirage News)

What’s next

The researchers plan to further develop and test the armored CAR-T cell therapy in additional preclinical studies before potentially moving it into clinical trials for patients with aggressive solid tumors.

The takeaway

This novel approach of engineering CAR-T cells to block the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment represents an exciting step forward in making CAR-T therapy effective against solid tumors, which have historically been resistant to this type of immunotherapy. By empowering CAR-T cells to both attack cancer directly and dismantle the tumor's protective defenses, the researchers hope to generate a more potent and durable anti-cancer response.