AIDS to cure cancer
December 14, 2012
A PROMISING new treatment
currently being trialled at the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
is garnering worldwide attention,
after the first patient to undergo
the therapy is now in remission.
The clinical trial, CTL019, is a T
cell therapy for B cell cancers such
as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, B
cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and
the adult disease chronic
lymphocytic leukemia.
The trial involves the collection of
T cells from patients, which are then
reprogrammed in a lab to recognize
and attach to a protein that is
found only on the surface of B cells.
This process sees the T cells
reprogrammed with a disabled form
of HIV (due to the virsus’ aptitude at
carrying genetic material into T cells).
After this reengineering, the cells
are called chimeric antigen
receptor T cells.
From here the cells are put back
into the patient where they
disperse to find cancerous B cells.
As the reengineered cells multiply
in the body, they attach and kill the
rapidly dividing cancerous B cells,
and remain in the body long after
to continue fighting any new
cancerous B cells.
The first patient to undergo the
therapy, seven-year old Emma
Whitehead, underwent the treatment
after she suffered two relapses from
chemo, and had run out of options.
Seven months after treatment,
Emma is in complete remission.
There were however some issues
with the “aggressive treatment”,
including extreme side effects
which rendered Emma unconscious
and on a ventilator.
This was complication was overcome
when doctors used an arthritis drug
to combat the side effects.
Thus far nine out of the first 12
patients to trial the treatment have
responded favourably.
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