Health

‘Remarkable’ New Therapy Wipes Out Leukemia in Study

New Therapy Wipes Out Leukemia in StudyNEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) — Scientists are reporting the first clear success with a new approach for treating leukemia – turning the patients’ own blood cells into assassins that hunt and destroy their cancer cells.

They’ve only done it in three patients so far, but the results were striking: Two appear cancer-free up to a year after treatment, and the third patient is improved but still has some cancer. Scientists are already preparing to try the same gene therapy technique for other kinds of cancer.

“It worked great. We were surprised it worked as well as it did,” said Dr. Carl June, a gene therapy expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “We’re just a year out now. We need to find out how long these remissions last.”

He led the study, published Wednesday by two journals, New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine.

It involved three men with very advanced cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. The only hope for a cure now is bone marrow or stem cell transplants, which don’t always work and carry a high risk of death.

Scientists have been working for years to find ways to boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. Earlier attempts at genetically modifying bloodstream soldiers called T-cells have had limited success; the modified cells didn’t reproduce well and quickly disappeared.

June and his colleagues made changes to the technique, using a novel carrier to deliver the new genes into the T-cells and a signaling mechanism telling the cells to kill and multiply.

That resulted in armies of “serial killer” cells that targeted cancer cells, destroyed them, and went on to kill new cancer as it emerged. It was known that T-cells attack viruses that way, but this is the first time it’s been done against cancer, June said.

CBS News provides this report:

For the experiment, blood was taken from each patient and T-cells removed. After they were altered in a lab, millions of the cells were returned to the patient in three infusions.

The researchers described the experience of one 64-year-old patient in detail. There was no change for two weeks, but then he became ill with chills, nausea and fever. He and the other two patients were hit with a condition that occurs when a large number of cancer cells die at the same time – a sign that the gene therapy is working.

“It was like the worst flu of their life,” June said. “But after that, it’s over. They’re well.”

The main complication seems to be that this technique also destroys some other infection-fighting blood cells; so far the patients have been getting monthly treatments for that.

Penn researchers want to test the gene therapy technique in leukemia-related cancers, as well as pancreatic and ovarian cancer, he said. Other institutions are looking at prostate and brain cancer.

Dr. Walter J. Urba of the Providence Cancer Center in Portland, Ore., called the findings “pretty remarkable” but added a note of caution because of the size of the study.

“It’s still just three patients. Three’s better than one, but it’s not 100,” said Urba, one of the authors of an editorial on the research that appears in the New England Journal.

What happens long-term is key, he said: “What’s it like a year from now, two years from now, for these patients.”

But Dr. Kanti Rai, a blood cancer expert at New York’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center, could hardly contain his enthusiasm, saying he usually is more reserved in his comments on such reports.

“It’s an amazing, amazing kind of achievement,” said Rai, who had no role in the research.

None of the three patients wanted to be identified, but one wrote about his illness, and his statement was provided by the university. The man, himself a scientist, called himself “very luck,” although he wrote that he didn’t feel that way when he was first diagnosed 15 years ago at age 50.

He was successfully treated over the years with chemotherapy until standard drugs no longer worked.

Now, almost a year since he entered the study, “I’m healthy and still in remission. I know this may not be a permanent condition, but I decided to declare victory and assume that I had won.”

Comments (48)

  • rabornmd
    Posted on August 16, 2011 at 10:54am

    Trevor Raborn at http://www.uarethecure.org and http://www.bmscti.org has the first human study using donated granulocytes from 18 to 35 year olds to destroy solid tumors. First done in mice at Wake Forest University.

    Report Post » rabornmd  
  • cosmic dogma
    Posted on August 12, 2011 at 6:34pm

    Wonderful discovery by God’s CHILDREN. We are not controlled by God. We have free will. We can create and build, discover and destroy. The answers to all, are here. We are not to be GIVEN the answers, we must strive and learn. Be curious and humble. Life is amazing. God is amazing.

    Report Post »  
  • ying
    Posted on August 12, 2011 at 5:34pm

    This is good! Interestingly, cancer cells are black in color.

    Report Post » ying  
  • johnj1952
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:10pm

    Saw the interview of a doctor connected to this research on FOX this afternoon. Very interesting, but for now when this becomes the news of the day and nothing else I will hold back on how I decide if it is the next best thing to sliced bread. I have lost too many family and friends to cancer and wish with all I can that this is the magic bullet. In the next days, weeks, and months to come when more news of a break through has happened then Ill celibrate, for now I have a wait and see approach.

    Report Post » johnj1952  
  • frongjumping
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:09pm

    It’s amazing how many of our advancements in biotechnology are based upon things that nature has already engineered for us. Hell, for all we know, the secret to eternal youth could be hidden in our DNA or something, and we simply haven’t identified it yet. Could all this really be totally random? I’d say it makes a pretty good case for intelligent design, even if you only believe in clockwork universe theory.

    Report Post »  
  • Joker50
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 5:28pm

    Maybe they finally have found a cure. Cancer research has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years and what was once considered a death sentence is now very treatable. I was diagnosed with Lymphoma last year and I am undergoing treatments every 6 months for the next two years. I am very positive about my treatment and confident in my doctors.

    Report Post »  
  • Liberty8
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 2:25pm

    This is a great discovery for cancer. Lets just hope that the FDA and Obamacare does not kill this drug treatment when they start to ration healthcare using the panels for who gets treatment and who does not. This type of cancer CLL does not get the big bucks for research and this study came from private funds which is just great for people who have CLL. All should send money for this study by Dr. June to continue his research so cancer can be cured soon. Just think how healthcare cost would come down in price if we could cure cancer with this study. We all should be sending money now to cure cancer with this study. This is really big!!! I have a family member with this type of cancer and we are just waiting for this treatment to be approved very soon if possible. I just hope that he will live long enough to get the new treatment even if we have to pay for it out of pocket. Please Dr. June keep on doing the research for those who have cancer so a cure can be made in the near future.

    Report Post »  
  • HD Veteran
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:48am

    In England treatments like this are not available due to cost.

    coming here soon?

    Report Post » HD Veteran  
  • TheDebtWeAllPay
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:31am

    WARNING zombie apocalypse

    Report Post » TheDebtWeAllPay  
  • Myresponse2010
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:33am

    The book ” Rich Mans‘s Poorman’s Cancer Cure ” explains that in the body, an imbalance of the ph level helps cancer thrive. When the body has too much lactic acid it’s like a vacation spot for cancer. To remedy this, a certain amount of Sodium Bicarbonate was given to patients who are now cancer free. Once in the bloodstream, it took away the high acid levels and starved the cancers to death. Sodium Bicarbonate is also know as baking soda. Now, when you put in in your refrigerator, it leaches the orders and other things right out of the air. It does the same thing in the body. It balances the ph level and helps the body rid itself of lactic acid which is the by product of muscular exertion, and other toxins as well. Happy reading……

    Report Post »  
    • REBELWITHACAUSE
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 12:40pm

      It‘s well known that a good diet that’s less acidic and more alkaline is the key to good health, and less prone to cancer, and while the information is out there for everyone, so many just ignore it. Cancer cells thrive and flourish in a dish of acidic fluids while they die off in a dish of alkaline fluids. Studies have shown this… but for some reason, this is not mentioned much at all by doctors. They’d love nothing more than to keep working away, using billions of dollars to fund studies on gene therapy, playing God… instead of looking at the diet. Sure… genetics may play a huge role… some are going to be dealt the ugly hand, but some/MOST can help themselves if they are careful about their diet. Just google acidic vs. alkaline foods and change your diet folks!!! Eating right makes a HUGE difference for most people.

      Report Post » REBELWITHACAUSE  
    • southerngal
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 4:09pm

      “lactic acid which is the by product of muscular exertion” does this mean a couch potato like me will be less apt to get cancer.

      Report Post »  
  • imreddog
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 9:44am

    There are many cancer cures that aren’t allowed to be used because the FDA is the lap dog of the drug mfgrs. I cured a tumor on my forehead with an herbal formula. It took about 3 weeks.
    Another case is I had a Poodle dog that got breast cancer. There was a study for a treatment that I agreed to let them try on my dog. What they did was to inject the cell wall of the Tuberculous Bacilli in and around the tumors before they removed them. The idea was to make the body recognize the cancer as being foreign so that the immune system would attack it. Calamity, my dog, drowned just before she turned 18 years old. The overall results of the test was;
    without this treatment, 90% death rate for poodles.
    with this treatment, 90% survival rate for poodles.
    They only removed the tumor, not the whole breast. This was a very successful treatemet and was supposed to be used on women with breast cancer. I guess that there is not enough money for the drug mfgrs. because I haven’t heard of this being used on women.

    Report Post »  
  • mattmo79
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 9:10am

    Great news, hopefully it will work on a variety of cancers. Question is will the FDA take 10 years to approve the method for treating cancer patients?

    Report Post » mattmo79  
  • survivorseed
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 4:51am

    Why would Blazers be excited by this news? If its gods will for you to have leukemia then he is gunna be mighty pi$$ed if you go and use science against his orders. Why wouldn’t you just be happy that he has chosen you to die a horrible death and get a spot at his picnic in the sky

    Report Post »  
    • TRUTHandFREEDOM
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 5:09am

      God gave us life and a right to it. The commandment is Thou shall not kill, NOT thou shall not find a way to live longer! God gives us the ability to overcome our challenges (and the low character mocking that we receive from indoctrinated, hate spewing, oppression supporters). Have a nice Day!

      Report Post »  
    • oldsoldier10
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 7:06am

      You are a total moron, even the bible sends the sick to the doctor to make sure they are cured, once Jesus healed them. Why do fear anything that you do not understand and only vilify peoples beliefs? We don’t hate you because you are a Godless heathen that will burn in the flames for eternity, nor will we attempt to excoriate you for your lack of faith. What I can say as a Paratrooper for 11 years and a combat veteran, is that as soon as the troop doors on the C130 open and torrents of air buffet the jumpers all of them are praying to land safety, and even the most buff ready soldier under fire is praying for a safe return home, for just one more day. So go hate on the Graffelo web site where you belong, or better go to your local church and say a prayer, what can it hurt if God is not there then only wasted time, or are you just afraid that God may be there?

      Report Post » oldsoldier10  
    • rdsxfn
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 7:27am

      God gave us a brain like no other on earth. We can think, rationalize and figure things out. Science & God are not exclusive! I don’t believe he always wanted us to live in caves in the dark or Jesus would have told us that when he lived among us. Discoveries like this should make us glorify his name more. God is good…all the time.

      Report Post »  
    • gmoneytx
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 8:22am

      Wow, didn’t realize GOD would want anyone to have Cancer…and just maybe, He put me on a pth to learn something, not KILL ME!

      Report Post » gmoneytx  
    • WARRIORSCROWN
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 8:58am

      Survivor… oh my God….. Jesus Christ was okay with healing yep pretty sure about that…and Luke was a freakin’ doctor! God’s will? That is truly pathetic, I feel sorry for you if that’s how you view God. God is in control, but he does not “control” everything. If he does control everything I guess he sure likes to argue with himself lol.

      Report Post »  
    • pinnybogg
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 9:02am

      I have CLL and I am insulted by your comment. God would not have given scientists and doctors the knowlege to do these things if He just wanted us all to suffer. To say God chose these people to have CLL is simply a disgusting crock!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • loadingmyclips
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 9:57am

      Spoken like a true idiot.

      Report Post » loadingmyclips  
    • I support God's Israel!
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:10am

      Uh, you don‘t think it’s God’s will for you to be well when the devil attacks you with illness? You don‘t think that Doctors aren’t blessed by God with gifts of healing in their hands. Are you one of those left-wing Christians who believe God only heals DIRECTLY and not through anyone? Read your Bible again. Especially read the last 2 paragraphs of Mark. God has blessed us with Technology, medicine, and other great things. Evil then turns it around for its own purpose and destroys it. BUT, if we stay the course and work on the great things God has given us either directly or indirectly, He will continue to bless us. But, if we don’t give HIM credit for the great and perfect gifts from above, then you will make Him a JEALOUS GOD. Is this what you want for the rest of us?

      Report Post » I support God's Israel!  
    • Gamaliel
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 10:55am

      Death culture enthusiast aren’t you. We are not the death enthusiasts. Maybe you should look into what conservatism is about instead of looking at things through your prejudiced narrow little mind!

      Report Post »  
    • SenorStrange
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:26am

      Thank you for your hate filled anti-religious bigoted comments and please enjoy the freedoms you have in the greatest nation the world has ever know brought to you by Christians.

      Report Post »  
    • WhiteFang
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:37am

      We need to pray for God’s Kingdom to come.

      Matthew 8:1 – After he had come down from the mountain great crowds followed him. 2 And, look! a leprous man came up and began doing obeisance to him, saying: “Lord, if you just want to, you can make me clean.” 3 And so, stretching out [his] hand, he touched him, saying: “I want to. Be made clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed away. 4 Then Jesus said to him: “See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses appointed, for the purpose of a witness to them.”
      5 When he entered into Ca·per´na·um, an army officer came to him, entreating him 6 and saying: “Sir, my manservant is laid up in the house with paralysis, being terribly tormented.” 7 He said to him: “When I get there I will cure him.” 8 In reply the army officer said: “Sir, I am not a fit man for you to enter under my roof, but just say the word and my manservant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Be on your way!’ and he is on his way, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Hearing that, Jesus became amazed and said to those following him: “I tell YOU the truth, With no one in Israel have I found so great a faith.

      Jesus, our Lord will cure ALL illness soon.

      Report Post » WhiteFang  
    • TheRogueX
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:51am

      LOL! Survivorseed.. I love it. I love how Christians talk about how everything is God’s Will, until stuff like this comes up. “God created everything!“ ”Oh, so God created murder and death and disease and starvation etc…?“ ”NONONO, that‘s the DEVIL’S work!”

      Whatever. If God created everything, then God created everything. Sin included. If God did not create everything, then He is NOT GOD.

      Report Post »  
    • affinnity
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 11:51am

      Survivorseed. You seem to like to insult people with souls and talk a lot of S.H.I.T. You are an ASS. I for one don‘t care about this cure and I’m ready to die anytime – are you?

      Report Post » affinnity  
    • Physicist_In_Training
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 12:10pm

      You seem to be confusing Christianity with Calvinism. Not all Christians are Calvinists. In fact, very few are, that I am aware of. I consider myself to be an atheist but I don’t begrudge anyone their faith, and I think your comment was unmerited and, unfortunately, unresearched. You have thought to make a witty comment to point out a contradiction in the way a group of people thinks; but instead, you just made those selfsame people aware of just how ignorant you are to their beliefs.

      Report Post » Physicist_In_Training  
    • REBELWITHACAUSE
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 12:48pm

      GOOD GRIEF!!! Don’t any of you study the Bible? Assuming any of you that is responding here believes the King James Bible is the Word of God… if you don’t, then why retaliate against someone else’s comments? FIRST… God wants ALL to be of good health, happy, etc., living joy-filled, prosperous lives. It’s MAN that has screwed all this up, thanks to Satan. Satan has deceived the whole world… making man believe they can and should do whatever seems right in their own eyes. What does God say about man playing God? God gives you commandments to follow. If you do not obey God’s laws, then you are sinning. Pretty plain and simple if you ask me. God says, “The wages of sin, is death.” Whether the sins are the sins of the one who dies or is dying, or the sins of others… the scripture is still there to let us know that with sin comes death. FIRST, obey all his commandments. ALL of them, not just the ones that are easiest for you. SECOND, he has given us Unclean Meats laws to follow… they’re for our health. If you eat things he says not to eat, then you suffer the consequences… they will eventually bring you bad health, or… degenerate your cells to the point that, over time, maybe your offspring suffers… again… maybe your own sins won’t kill you, but… maybe your sins will kill your children, a grandchild, or a great grandchild… think on these things. Obey God, repent of past sins, have faith in his will to heal and trust only in God

      Report Post » REBELWITHACAUSE  
    • REBELWITHACAUSE
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:01pm

      OHHH… and AMEN, WHITE FANG… God is the HEALING God… and He WILL heal the world in the World Tomorrow! Bet you a billion dollars there won‘t be any of today’s kind of doctors around then.

      Report Post » REBELWITHACAUSE  
    • Secret Agent Man
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:19pm

      Science is simply God’s laws. There is nothing wrong with us studying his laws to cure disease and illness in his name.

      Report Post »  
    • affinnity
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 2:55pm

      Atheists are a very minor minority.

      Religion in the United States:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States
      Atheism in the World:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

      Report Post » affinnity  
  • hillbillyinny
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 4:11am

    This is excellent news, although I am somewhat conservative in my excitement until time confirms real success.

    I have said repeatedly to friends and acquaintances that “The cure for cancer is in SOMEONE’S mind. But, if the wrong baby is aborted, that cure may not come for many, many years.” Thankfully, these researchers mom’s did not make that choice and they went into the field they were meant to go into!

    God’s knowledge, a part of it in each of us if we only realized that we are to be family/community, not greedy, self-centered, individualists.

    Thank you Lord!

    Report Post »  
  • lketchum
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 3:07am

    I underwent similar treatments just this month and from a derived treatment from this study. Without it, I would have been dead a few days ago (per the staging board).

    Today, I am cancer free and undergoing the follow-on radiation treatments needed to ensure the cancer does not return.

    The chemo was surely no picnic, but it sure beat the alternatives.

    Report Post » lketchum  
  • lylejk
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 2:28am

    Excellent; possible cure for cancer in hand. I say get out of alpha phase and go full beta and I mean yesterday. If this can cure Leukemia and even better, brain and pancreatic cancers, we are at the premise of literally ridding cancer itself from our volcabulary of disease that have caused so much pain. My uncle died of cancer (related to agent orange) and am not sure if this type of treatment could be used for all types of cancers, but if so, this would definitely be a happy day for all. Kudos to these researchers for thinking of another way to utilize this form of therapy that increased it’s efficacy. :)

    Report Post » lylejk  
  • Jade_Peverell
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:48am

    Yeah, it works great until everyone turns into zombies.

    Report Post »  
    • 338lapua
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 7:14am

      No….that only happens when you add worchestershire sauce to embalming fluid!

      Report Post »  
  • conservativewoman
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:44am

    This is fantastic! It seems to be the best cancer therapy I have heard of, and in advanced cases. I pray it continues to work.

    Report Post » conservativewoman  
  • in_awe
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:42am

    As someone whose wife and mother both have CLL, I cried when I saw this report. With God’s blessing this will prove to be a truly successful remedy to this incurable disease. Thank you to all the researchers who work tirelessly to find cures for cancer. My wife’s oncologist has spent his entire career of over 30 years running a cancer center lab doing research into finding a cure for CLL while also providing clinical services to his patients. Incredibly talented and creative people are hard at work on finding the treatment(s) that will work. God bless them all!

    Report Post »  
  • carolisa
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:41am

    If this really works, it’s amazing! I know of a child with leukemia who is about to go to St. Jude’s. If only he could get this therapy, and be cured. I would love to see the hospitals emptied out of cancer patients.

    Report Post »  
  • Firebrand
    Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:08am

    Genetically modified people. GMP’s. I claim credit in advance for thinking it up. =o)

    Report Post » Firebrand  
    • MASTER YODA
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 1:44am

      GMP‘s have already been done before thanks to Jesus’ blood. You get a transfusion when you are born again and become a new creation.

      Report Post » MASTER YODA  
    • Firebrand
      Posted on August 11, 2011 at 2:04am

      I was trying to take credit for the acronym. GMP (read as GiMP…)

      I’ll take my money as cashier check, gold bullion, or money order only. =o)

      Report Post » Firebrand  

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