Tests of a potentially revolutionary cancer
therapy have had "extraordinary" results on terminally ill patients,
scientists have revealed.
In one study, more than nine out of ten participants with a severe form of leukaemia saw their symptoms completely vanish.Four out of five patients with some other blood cancers responded positively to the treatment and more than half ended up symptom free.
Lead scientist Professor Stanley Riddell, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, US, said the results were among patients who were projected to have two to five months to live.
The technique involves removing immune cells called T-cells from patients, tagging them with "receptor" molecules that target cancer, and putting them back into the body in an infusion.
The targeting molecules, known as chimeric antigen receptors or Cars, came from specially bred genetically engineered mice.
Once attached to the T-cells, they reduce the ability of the cancer to shield itself from the body's natural immune system.
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