17 February,2016 06:24 AM IST | | Agencies
Tests of a potentially revolutionary cancer therapy have had “extraordinary” results on terminally ill patients, scientists have revealed
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Washington D C: 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.
Scientists describes the results as a 'potential paradigm shift' in cancer treatment. Pic/GettyImages
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. He said, "This is extraordinary. This is unprecedented in medicine to be honest, to get response rates in this range in these very advanced patients."
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. Once attached to the T-cells, they reduce the ability of the cancer to shield itself from the body's natural immune system.
