Scientists claim to have developed “serial killer” cells that can wipe out leukemia within three weeks, a breakthrough they say could lead to new and effective treatments for the fatal blood cancer. Researchers engineered a technique that involved leukemia patients being treated with their own T cells – a type of white blood cell – that have been genetically modified to attack and destroy tumours within their bodies.
The treatment was so powerful that tumours were “blown away” in under a month with few side effects, the Daily Mail reported. After removing the patient’s T cells, the researchers reprogrammed them to attack tumours by binding to a protein expressed by cancerous cells. In most forms of cancer these crucial cells are unable to distinguish tumour cells from healthy tissue, which allows the cancer to spread unchecked. But they managed to reprogramme them to attack tumour cells by inserting a “secret ingredient” – a protein called a chimeric antigen receptor . Read more…
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