The US National Cancer Institute team in Bethesda, MD has successfully completed the first successful gene therapy treatment to rid a human of cancer.
For Mark Origer, 53, the treatment completely eliminated his skin cancer and another tumor on his liver shrunk enough that it could be removed surgically.
- Next they used a virus to carry receptor genes into the T cells. These receptors are what enable the modified T cell to recognize specific cancers – in this case malignant melanoma.
- When the modified T cells were transfused into the patients they began to attack the tumor cells.
- For at least two months after the treatment, the modified cells made up at least 10% of the patients’ circulating T cells.
The scientists are now looking at ways to enable greater numbers of the modified T cells to survive.
Dr Rosenberg said: “We’ve identified T cell receptors that will now recognize common cancers.”
The BBC News had the best coverage I read. You can see the complete story here, or search Google News for all the related articles.