Cancer remains one of the common causes of death in the world, which is why the search for its cure is highly necessary. Now, scientists are hoping that the groundbreaking therapy they have discovered may be the cancer cure that everyone is waiting for.
The therapy involves the use of killer T-cells, or a type of white blood cells that play a vital role in the body's immune system. Researchers, led by Stanley Riddell, an oncologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, presented the findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting held in Washington DC on Monday.
Riddell explained that the therapy involved extracting white blood cells from cancer patients and using these killer cells to be restructured in order to attack cancerous ones. When these "reprogrammed" cells are injected into the patients, they can control the spread of the disease.
In one study, researchers revealed that 94 percent of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) experienced that their symptoms vanished completely. For patients with other types of blood cancers, the response rate was beyond 80 percent and complete remission was seen in more than 50 percent of the patients.
"These are in patients that have failed everything. Most of the patients in our trial would be projected to have two to five months to live," Riddell noted.
While the research shows promising results, the details have yet to be reviewed by experts in the field. Even researchers themselves admitted that the results are still in their early stages and further studies have to be conducted.
Although the T cell-based therapy yielded an impressive response, the Cancer Research UK highlights that it doesn't mean that a patient has been totally freed from the disease and that a "cure" has been found. A peer-reviewed scientific paper is still needed to support the findings.
