Most recently, the scientific journal Nature published the results of the scientific work of a group of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania (USA), which gives the right to say that humanity is on the verge of a grandiose event in the world of oncology! In their article, scientists report that blood cancer can be completely cured!
Several years ago, we informed our readers on the pages of the Inna Foundation website that scientists have high hopes for CAR-T therapy. This is a fundamentally new approach in the treatment of blood cancer.
For many decades, oncological diseases were treated as standard – it is surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. CAR-T therapy (CAR-T cells – Chimeric antigen receptor T cells) is when the body’s own defense system is activated. When an antigen appears in the body, the body produces antibodies. For this, special protein complexes, T-cell receptors, exist on the surface of immune cells. Interacting with antigens, cell receptors activate T-lymphocytes. This is how the immune response works. In our articles, we talked about the fact that cancer cells are intelligent in their own way and can camouflage themselves well. Therefore, T-cell receptors cannot always recognize and destroy them. Accordingly, the disease progressed.
A few years ago, scientists developed a technology to genetically modify T cells to increase their effectiveness. Blood is taken from the patient and T-lymphocytes are isolated from it. They insert a gene encoding receptors for specific cancer antigens. These T cells with artificial antigen receptors are grown under special conditions in the laboratory, and then injected back into the patient, targeting cancer cells. The peculiarity of CAR-T cells is that they do not disappear over time, but, on the contrary, multiply, eventually replacing the rest of the white blood cells.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania report that two patients in the US have been cured with their own cells. They even call their names. This is Doug Olson and Bill Ludwig. Both suffered from lymphocytic leukemia. In 2010, they underwent a course of immunotherapy with CAR-T cells. They quickly went into remission, the cancer cells disappeared and did not reappear. Periodically, patients were examined. But now, having made sure that CAR-T cells are active and do not disappear, the researchers announced the final complete cure of patients.
“Now we can say that CAR-T cells are really saving patients,” said study leader Carl June, professor of immunology and oncology. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved the technique developed by Dr. Jun et al. for the treatment of five blood cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, follicular lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Researchers believe that in the coming years, with the help of CAR-T cells, it will be possible to effectively treat all types of blood cancer.
