Researchers Trick T-Cells to Wipe Out Leukemia in a Girl

A team of researchers in the United States revealed that they were able to wipe out leukemia in a young girl with her own modified T-cells with the help of a new type of immune cell therapy.

The case study of Emily "Emma" Whitehead, age 7, offers hope for a new path against a stubborn form of leukemia, known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), maybe even replacing the need for chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants someday.

About Leukemia
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about Leukemia

But the research in the New England Journal of Medicine also describes an attempt at T cell reprogramming in another child who did not survive, pointing to the need for more research to improve on the therapies being tested.

ALL is the most common form of childhood cancer, and is often curable. However, the two children in this case study had a high-risk type that resists conventional treatments, so their parents enrolled them in the clinical trial.

"Emily remains healthy and cancer-free, 11 months after receiving bioengineered T cells that zeroed in on a target found in this type of leukemia," the University of Pennsylvania said in a statement.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - Incidence Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the cancer of white blood cells characterized by excess lymphoblasts. It is the most common of all childhood cancers and can be fatal in weeks if left untreated.

The second child in the two-person case study was a 10-year-old who also showed no evidence of cancer cells for two months after treatment but later suffered a fatal relapse when the cancer returned in the form of leukemia cells that did not harbor the specific cell receptor targeted by the therapy.

"This study describes how these cells have a potent anticancer effect in children," said co-first author Stephan Grupp of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where both patients took part in the clinical trial.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia-Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment-Prognosis-FAQs
Acute myeloid Leukemia, more popularly known by its abbreviated form AML, is a fast- evolving leukemia that affects both children and adults alike

"However, we also learned that in some patients with ALL, we will need to further modify the treatment to target other molecules on the surface of leukemia cells."

The method works by taking some of the patient's own T-cells and re-engineering them to recognize and attack B cells, which have become cancerous and which express a surface protein called CD19.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is one of the most common types of adult leukemia and is considered as one of the ‘good cancers’.

Without reprogramming, T cells are unable to tackle cancer cells. But when the researchers modified them into CTL019 cells and returned them to the patients, they multiplied by the thousands. In Whitehead, they have persisted for months.

University of Pennsylvania scientists first developed this modified T cell therapy for use in adult patients with a different form of leukemia known as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

In 2011, a small trial on three adults showed early success with the method. Two of those adult patients are still in remission more than 2.5 years later.

Source-AFP