Huberman Lab Avoiding, Treating & Curing Cancer With the Immune System | Dr. Alex Marson
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Mar 9, 2026 
Alex Marson, MD/PhD, immunologist and genomic engineer at UCSF. He explains how the immune system recognizes cancer and how engineered T cells and CRISPR are being used to treat and potentially cure cancers. The conversation covers everyday cancer risk factors, checkpoint inhibitors, CAR T therapies, gene editing tools and delivery methods, plus ethical questions around germline edits.
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CAR T Cells Are Engineered Search And Destroy Machines
- CAR T cells are synthetic receptors engineered into a patient's T cells to direct them to cancer antigens; the CAR is an artificial receptor encoded by delivered DNA.
- When reinfused, CAR T cells search for and destroy target cancer cells systemically like a programmed army.
CRISPR Repurposed Bacterial Immunity For Genome Editing
- CRISPR (Cas9 + guide RNA) originated as a bacterial anti-phage defense and repurposes an RNA-guided nuclease to cut specific DNA sequences, enabling targeted genome edits.
- This RNA programmability made CRISPR far easier and faster to deploy than prior gene-editing tools.
Target Choice Determines CAR T Safety And Success
- Selecting the right antigen matters because many cancer targets are also on healthy cells; CD19 CAR T therapy works because loss of B cells is tolerable clinically.
- For solid tumors, finding targets that spare vital tissues is far harder and drives innovations like dual recognition logic.
