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'Extraordinary' cancer trial sees symptoms vanish in 94% of patients

The new treatment uses the immune system to eliminate cancer cells.

A POTENTIAL NEW treatment for cancer has been hailed for its “extraordinary results”.

Scientists in the US carried out a number of studies on patients with advanced leukemia.

The Guardian reports that in one study of 35 people, 94% of participants, with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) saw symptoms vanish completely. Patients with other blood cancers had response rates greater than 80%, and more than half experienced complete remission.

Speaking at the annual meeting for the American Association for the Advancement for Science (AAAS), Professor Stanley Riddell of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Washington state said: “This is unprecedented in medicine, to be honest, to get response rates in this range in these very advanced patients.”

Riddell explained to Sky News that the technique involved removing immune cells called T-cells from patients, tagging them with “receptor” molecules that target cancer, and putting them back into the body in an infusion.

sky Sky News Sky News

He noted that several groups of researchers have been working on the technique for some time.

The revolution here really is demonstrating that we can take T-cells from a patient and essentially reprogramme those cells to recognise cancers. The power of this is that … unlike a chemotherapy drug that sort of just destroys cancer cells that are growing, you actually now put in a living therapy that really can combat the cancer.

Riddell noted that the T-cells will grow in the patient “until the tumour is eliminated”.

He said repeat treatment is not required as the technique just requires one infusion to get rid of several kilograms of tumour.

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    Mute Mick Power
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    Jan 12th 2017, 8:07 AM

    If she’s not careful she’ll be Dora the executed.

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    Mute rendams
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    Jan 12th 2017, 3:32 PM

    @mickpower, only when you are a drug pusher and will be resisting arrest that you could be in trouble, otherwise it’s now considerably a safe country to visit

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    Mute Kieran OKeeffe
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    Jan 12th 2017, 6:51 AM

    No way man..Did Bart Simpson advise her..

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    Mute Noel Barnes
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    Jan 12th 2017, 12:08 PM

    Google El Nido Palawan. One of the mostly beautiful places in the world.
    Up to a few years ago it was untouched by tourism.

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 12th 2017, 10:38 AM

    Quite right.
    Look at what has happened here regards Hollywood and cultural heritage sites such as Skellig Michael.

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    Mute John B
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    Jan 12th 2017, 11:57 AM

    Did something happen to Skellig? Other than appearing in a movie I mean and generating tourist interest?

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    Mute Alex Falcone
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    Jan 12th 2017, 3:22 PM

    @John B:
    Allowing access to world heritage sites such as Skellig Michael to Trekkies who want a selfie on the site is a barbaric policy which could only have been dreamed up by a Philistine driven by financial priorities.

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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Jan 12th 2017, 1:48 PM

    I don’t understand why Viacom just announced this like it was a done deal. Hopefully it will be stopped. The world’s coral reefs are diminishing fast.

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    Mute dstaffx
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    Jan 12th 2017, 8:21 PM

    Well they just showed her the Dora

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