Known as CAR-T, this technology achieved remission of leukemia still in its experimental phase, using genetically modified immune cells provided by a healthy volunteer donor. This experiment took place in the United Kingdom on a 13-year-old child.
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Learn more about this new treatment
Check out the story of this promising experiment that can cause leukemia remission:
- Brief report of the experiment
A 13-year-old girl named Alyssa had already undergone several treatments against cancer, with which she was unsuccessful. After these attempts, she was enrolled in an innovative trial, whose treatment aimed at the remission of leukemia in patients with this disease.
Thus, considering that the disease affects the cells of the immune system, called B and T lymphocytes, the treatment sought to use precisely the
cells T for your treatment. Finally, the result of this experiment was satisfactory and the girl had remission of her cancer.- new therapy
When using modified cells from a voluntary donor, the intention is that the cells received destroy the cancer cells present in the body of the person with leukemia.
With the T cells, the person suffering from this disease can receive the normal bone marrow transplant to get his immunity back. To avoid rejection by the organism, these cells are genetically manipulated so that they remain persistent within the person who received them.
- Limitations of the technique
One of the main limitations of the technique is the waiting time between the collection, manipulation and infusion of these cells in patients waiting to receive them.
As it is still very recent, it is necessary to find out if the cells persist in the body or if there is a chance that the transplanted cells will die and the cancer will return.
