Scientists announce groundbreaking results of new therapy to defeat skin cancer.

Gene therapy clears men of skin cancer

Two men have been cleared of skin cancer by using genetically modified versions of their own cells.

The results were published by the US National Cancer Institute team in Bethesda,USA. They also showed how the treatment can attack breast,liver and lung cancers.

Although these results are encouraging, it should be noted that 15 other patients received the treatment but the cancer was not eradicated in their cases. This is a proof of concept, rather than a fully fledged cure.

In the case of the two men who were cured, they had a life expectancy of 3-6 months, so advanced was their cancer.

So these results are very encouraging, but we may have to wait years before the treatment is suitable and available for general use.

In brief, the scientists took so-called T-Cells from the patients and modified these cells by adding in a new molecule that could home in on the cancer cells. The molecule was introduced to the cells using a harmless retrovirus. The modified cells were then injected back into the patients. T-Cells are special cells in our blood that can fight cancer and other diseases. However not all of us have T-Cells capable of fighting cancer cells. This was the case with the 17 patients treated in the study. The genetic modification turned their T-Cells into cancer tumour fighting cells!

More information is available from Science Magazine, where the study was published : Building a Better Tumor Killer, Science Magazine

This content was created on Fri 1 September 2006

More like this
Illnesses
News and Comment
Treatments
Use this page



Privacy Terms | Advertisers | Legal Disclaimer | Contact
© 2007 TheFamilyGP.com