Scientists are programming the body’s immune system to kill cancer
In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images
For the first time, the FDA has approved a drug that fights cancer using gene therapy. [Popular Science / Claire Maldarelli]
On Wednesday, the government approved a drug called Kymriah, which scientists have developed by genetically modifying a patient’s own immune cells to attack and destroy cancer cells. The treatment is highly individualized, with each patient being treated with their own cells. [Washington Post / Laurie McGinley]
Kymriah was specifically developed for a form of leukemia called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which affects children and young adults. [NPR / Rob Stein]
The therapy's most well-known success story is a 12-year-old patient named Emily Whitehead, who was the first leukemia patient to try the therapy at age 6. She is now cancer-free, despite suffering severe side effects. [NYT / Denise Grady]
Those side effects are some of the treatment's biggest concerns; because it employs a person’s immune system to fight cancer cells, it can result in dangerously high fevers, inflammation, and seizures. [Popular Science / Claire Maldarelli]
Gene therapy is also extremely expensive, with one round costing close to $650,000. However, the drugmaker said it is working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on pricing. [Ars Technica / Beth Mole]
Trials of the drug have shown a high success rate, with more than 80 percent of the 63 patients who tried the drug getting their cancer into remission. Researchers are hopeful they can test it on other forms of cancers as well, but there is still a lot of work to be done in that area. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Blythe Bernhard]
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images
For the first time, the FDA has approved a drug that fights cancer using gene therapy. [Popular Science / Claire Maldarelli]
On Wednesday, the government approved a drug called Kymriah, which scientists have developed by genetically modifying a patient’s own immune cells to attack and destroy cancer cells. The treatment is highly individualized, with each patient being treated with their own cells. [Washington Post / Laurie McGinley]
Kymriah was specifically developed for a form of leukemia called acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which affects children and young adults. [NPR / Rob Stein]
The therapy's most well-known success story is a 12-year-old patient named Emily Whitehead, who was the first leukemia patient to try the therapy at age 6. She is now cancer-free, despite suffering severe side effects. [NYT / Denise Grady]
Those side effects are some of the treatment's biggest concerns; because it employs a person’s immune system to fight cancer cells, it can result in dangerously high fevers, inflammation, and seizures. [Popular Science / Claire Maldarelli]
Gene therapy is also extremely expensive, with one round costing close to $650,000. However, the drugmaker said it is working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on pricing. [Ars Technica / Beth Mole]
Trials of the drug have shown a high success rate, with more than 80 percent of the 63 patients who tried the drug getting their cancer into remission. Researchers are hopeful they can test it on other forms of cancers as well, but there is still a lot of work to be done in that area. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Blythe Bernhard]
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
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