# CD7

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/cd7/  
OnCo record `cd7` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A T-cell surface marker kept on most T-cell leukaemias; CAR-T cells against it must be engineered not to kill each other, and they have produced remissions in T-ALL where nothing else worked.

## Summary

CD7 is expressed on ~95% of T-ALL and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma, some NK/T lymphomas and ~30% of AML. CD7 CAR-T requires fratricide prevention (CD7 knockout, protein expression blockers or naturally selected CD7-negative T cells) and causes T-cell aplasia, so it is used as a bridge to allogeneic transplant. Trials in China (Peking University, Hebei Yanda) reported 90%+ complete remission in relapsed T-ALL (NEJM 2022, universal donor-derived CAR-T), and WU-CART-007 (allogeneic, US) received breakthrough status. Also a target for the ADC and for imaging in T-cell lymphoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: gap-fill
- Symbol: CD7
- Class: surface-antigen
- Biology: Ig-superfamily transmembrane glycoprotein on thymocytes, mature T and NK cells; ligand is SECTM1/K12; co-stimulatory role in early T-cell development.
- Where found: T-ALL / T-LBL (~95%); Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, some PTCL; AML (~30%, shorter survival)

## Notes

- The share of peripheral T-cell lymphomas retaining CD7 is not well characterised; CD7 is frequently lost in mature T-cell neoplasms and retained in a subset of NK/T lymphomas.

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD7
- Donor-derived CD7 CAR-T (NEJM 2022): https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2117013

## Connected records

- cancers: [Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/all-leukemia/), [Acute myeloid leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/aml/), [Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/peripheral-t-cell-lymphoma/)
- technologies: [Allogeneic (off-the-shelf) cell therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/allogeneic-cell-therapy/), [Allogeneic stem cell transplantation](https://onco.cc/technologies/allogeneic-hsct/), [CAR-T cell therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/car-t/)
- trials: [A Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of BEAM-201 in Relapsed/Refractory T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) or T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (T-LL)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05885464/)

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