Engineered Cells save Cancer Patients
Friday, October 6th, 2006For a long while(past 20 years), the field of genetic-immuno-cancer therapy was just an idea, a theoretical "guess" that some how immune cells (T-lymphocytes, or these killer cells that protect us from virus and bacteria etc) can be "reprogrammed" to recognize tumor and eliminate them. People have been able to extract tumor cells and "train" the progenitor white-blood cells to recognize, expand (multiply), and eliminate the metastatic tumor cells. The challenge is how to "pre-warn" the cells for a potential future risk of having cancer. Also, it is also a major undertaking to identify preexisting tu
mor-reactive white-blood cells.
This speculation, however, came to a realization today when scientists from the NIH have used genetically modification techniques to activate normal peripheral blood lymphocytes to target and kill metastatic tumor cells. They were able to delivery the recognition machinery of the T-cell (killer cells), something called T-Cell receptor that specifically recognizes different tumor types, to the peripheral blood lymphocytes using a genetically engineered RNA retrovirus. They first took out some white blood cells, gave them the recognition machinery, and reintroduced these cells (now called autologous cells) back into the patients. In 2 cases of 15 very agressively advanced and metastasized tumor patients (who had prior treatments and unsuccessful), the population of circulating "updated" white-blood cells are at a sustainable level, and their tumors have regressed to an undetectable level. They’re cancer free!
Above: note the dark area (tumor) is regressing starting from pre-treatment -> 10 months later. Liver size of this one patient also reduced by 89%!!! All you alcoholics… pls thank modern genetics/immuno therapy. It may safe your liver one day.
source: Morgan, Dudley, Wunderlick…and Rosenberg, Science Oct 6, 2006 314: 126-129
