A therapy that retrains the body’s immune system to fight cancer has provoked excitement after more than 90% of terminally ill patients reportedly went into remission.
White blood cells were taken from patients with leukaemia, modified in the lab and then put back.
But the data has not been published or reviewed and two patients are said to have died from an extreme immune response.
Experts said the trial was exciting, but still only “a baby step.”
The news bubbled out of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual meeting in Washington DC.
The lead scientist, Prof Stanley Riddell from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, said all other treatments had failed in these patients and they had only two-to-five months to live.
He told the conference that: “The early data is unprecedented.”
Re-training
In the trial, cells from the immune system called killer t-cells were taken out of dozens of patients. The cells normally act like bombs destroying infected tissue.
The researchers genetically modified the t-cells to engineer a new targeting mechanism – with the technical name of chimeric antigen receptors – to target acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Prof Riddell told the BBC: “Essentially what this process does is, it genetically reprograms the T-cell to seek out and recognise and destroy the patient’s tumour cells.
“[The patients] were really at the end of the line in terms of treatment options and yet a single dose of this therapy put more than ninety percent of these patients in complete remission where we can’t detect any of these leukaemia cells.”
But one cancer expert told me they still felt in the dark on the full significance of the study, as the data is not available.
Learn more:Â Excitement at new cancer treatment
The Latest on: Cancer immunotherapy
[google_news title=”” keyword=”cancer immunotherapy” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Cancer immunotherapy
- Cancer Vaccine Tested in Glioblastoma Patients Shows Potential of mRNA Aggregateson May 1, 2024 at 7:05 pm
Vaccine harnesses multi-lamellar LP aggregates (LPA) that can simultaneously function as vaccines and as immunomodulating agents.
- New mRNA cancer vaccine triggers fierce immune response to fight malignant brain tumoron May 1, 2024 at 5:16 pm
An mRNA cancer vaccine quickly reprogrammed the immune system to attack the most aggressive type of brain tumor in a first-ever human clinical trial.
- Brain cancer in children is notoriously hard to treat – a new mRNA cancer vaccine triggers an attack from withinon May 1, 2024 at 9:05 am
Cancer vaccines have gained much interest among scientists but face a number of hurdles. A new mRNA vaccine for glioma offers a step forward in training the immune system to fight cancer.
- Researchers find difference in pancreatic cancer cells, offering new hope for immunotherapy effectivenesson May 1, 2024 at 6:32 am
A new study has found that pancreatic cancer cells are different based on their location ... of tumors in the pancreatic head versus the body and tail, particularly the immunotherapy receptors found ...
- Unlocking the immune system: cGAS-STING pathway offers new hope for cancer treatmenton April 30, 2024 at 10:38 am
Cancer immunotherapy, which leverages the body's immune system to target tumors, has emerged as a pivotal strategy in oncology. This paradigm shift from conventional treatments offers a more precise ...
- Breaking: AI Could Transform Cancer Treatment by Predicting Immunotherapy Successon April 30, 2024 at 8:27 am
In this article, we’ll explore a breakthrough development in the fight against cancer: how artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to predict immunotherapy success. This has the potential to ...
- Immunotherapy: A Beacon of Hope in Cancer Treatmenton April 29, 2024 at 11:38 pm
Cancer, a disease that has plagued humanity for centuries, has finally met its match in immunotherapy, a revolutionary treatment that harnesses the power of the immune system to combat this deadly ...
- Cancer immunity gets a boost from one common nutrient, study finds: ‘Intrigue and optimism’on April 29, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Vitamin D could be a surprise weapon against cancer, new research suggests.A study of mice published in the journal Science last week found that eating a diet rich in vitamin D changed the gut ...
- Pre-Ketone Supplement With Immunotherapy Shows Promise for Prostate Cancer in Miceon April 29, 2024 at 1:46 am
Adding a pre-ketone supplement – a component of a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet – to a type of cancer therapy in a laboratory setting was highly effective for treating prostate cancer.
- Vitamin D may balance gut microbiome to give cancer immunotherapy a booston April 25, 2024 at 12:30 pm
A new study in mice found that dietary vitamin D plays a role in balancing the gut microbiome and improving the way cancer immunotherapy works to fight tumors.
via Bing News