In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success by using gene therapy to transform patients’ blood cells into soldiers that seek and destroy cancer. A few patients with one type of leukemia were given this one-time, experimental therapy several years ago and some remain cancer-free today.
Now, at least six research groups have treated more than 120 patients with many types of blood and bone marrow cancers, with stunning results. “It’s really exciting,” said Dr. Janis Abkowitz, blood diseases chief at the University of Washington in Seattle and president of the American Society of Hematology. “You can take a cell that belongs to a patient and engineer it to be an attack cell.”
In one study, all five adults and 19 of 22 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, had a complete remission, meaning no cancer could be found after treatment, although a few have relapsed since then. These were gravely ill patients out of options. Some had tried multiple bone marrow transplants and up to 10 types of chemotherapy or other treatments.
Cancer was so advanced in 8-year-old Emily Whitehead, Philipsburg, Pa., that doctors said her major organs would fail within days. She was the first child given the gene therapy and shows no sign of cancer today, nearly two years later. “However, we’re still nervous every day because they can’t tell us what’s going to happen tomorrow,” said Tom Whitehead, Emily’s father.
Emily Whitehead is one of the unlucky children whom was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of five. For a good portion of the children diagnosed: chemotherapy can cure the disease, however, this did not happen for Emily; several rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments all failed and even threatened to take her ability to walk.
The University of Pennsylvania decided to try something a little different. researchers decided to take the blood out of her body and pass it through a machine to take the white blood cells out and put it back in. They then took a modified form of the HIV virus and introduced it to her white blood cells, basically reprogramming them to destroy the cancer.
The procedure did not work out as planned, this instead leaving Emily hospitalized because the cells were attacking her own body as well. It was not until the doctors gave her a rheumatoid arthritis drug that stopped the immune system malfunction they saw improvement. A few weeks later, when her bone marrow was checked, they were surprised to see … she was completely cancer free.
According to data provider IMS Health, spending on oncology drugs was $91 Billion last year, tripling since 2003. This is something different than all the other drugs that have come out in recent years. This treatment has seen a 100% success rate with 27 patients so far. Also the cancer that was being treated was no longer detectable. While some are calling this a major milestone for humanity and calling it the cure to cancer.
There are some hurdles ahead which include further testing as well as modified versions which will alleviate some of the side effects which almost killed the first patient who tried it. Internal sources as saying that the new drug will be ready for mass production by 2016 when they file with the FDA, however, the technology that goes behind it is economically viable.
Introduction: Routine Nagalase testing finds cancer early and GcMAF cures it