Gene editing puts 90% of leukaemia patients into remission
The University of Pennsylvania has developed a gene editing technique that improves cells' ability to attack chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Known as CAR-T, the three-day treatment put 90% of trial patients into deep remission within six months. As part of the treatment, researchers took a sample of patients' blood before altering it to attack cancer cells. The blood was then replaced via blood transfusion. As many as 3,600 patients in the UK could benefit from the treatment.
A revolutionary cancer treatment that alters the body’s cells so they attack tumours has offered hope of a cure.

The procedure is administered during three or four hospital outpatient appointments which last up to four hours each.

It has shown particular promise for leukaemia and blood cancers which collectively affect 30,000 new patients in the UK each year.

Mike Brandon, 32, is now disease free after having CAR-T cell therapy last summer. He is pictured with his partner, Kate

Early trials presented at the world’s largest cancer conference showed that treatment was able to eradicate all traces of cancer for almost all patients.

Known as CAR-T cell therapy, it involves doctors taking a sample of blood and then genetically altering the body’s own killer cells.

These cells are then injected back into the body whereupon they multiply and start attacking the tumours.

One trial presented to the American Society for Clinical Oncology Conference in Chicago showed that it had eradicated tumours in eight out of nine patients.

The patients had an aggressive type of leukaemia which is considered incurable – chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Yet six months after receiving the cell treatment they still have no traces of the disease in their bodies.

Dr Saar Gill, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who lead the trial, said he hoped they would remain cancer-free ‘forever.’

‘Our hope is that this disease is so deeply in remission that it never comes back.’

A second trial showed that the treatment eradicated leukaemia in 33 out of 35 patients – 94 per cent

A second trial showed that the treatment eradicated leukaemia in 33 out of 35 patients – 94 per cent.

These patients had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and were followed for two months after their treatment.

Dr Wanhong Zhao, the lead author from the Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, said that the treatment may offer ‘a chance for a cure in multiple myeloma.’

‘We will need to follow patients much longer to confirm that.’

Leukaemia, which affects the bone marrow, and myeloma, a blood cancer, are particularly hard to treat as unlike solid cancer tumours like breast and prostate they cannot be surgically removed.

About half of patients do not survive beyond five years and many of those who live longer have to take drugs for the rest of their lives.

These trials have offered hope that a one-off treatment – administered over three or four hospital visits – could offer a permanent cure.

The procedure is a form of immunotherapy, a class of drugs or treatment which involve teaching the body to fight the cancer itself.

They have been hailed as the ‘new era’ of cancer treatment and have shown particular success for harder to treat tumours.

CANCER-FREE AFTER JUST FIVE MONTHS Mike Brandon, 32, is now disease free after having CAR-T cell therapy last summer. He was only able to have the breakthrough procedure after his wife Kate raised more than £450,000 through a social media campaign. Mr Brandon, from Bristol, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in January 2014. The illness was so advanced that his consultant told him that ‘all NHS routes were exhausted.’ He began CAR-T therapy in May at the University of Pennsylvania, and in October announced that he was cancer-free. Mrs Brandon said at the time: ‘We have more tests ahead but, right now, we couldn’t be happier. ‘Prior to starting the trial, Mike’s bone marrow was made up of 90 per cent leukaemia cells and he was given weeks to live but thanks to the cutting edge CAR T-cell therapy he received in the US he is now cancer free.’ When launching the campaign, she had described her husband as a ‘kind, sincere and witty’ man who ‘deserved to have a chance at living life.’ Advertisement !- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/ru/health/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->

The procedure is currently only being developed by a handful of hospitals around the world, including the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

But charities hope that the success of these trials will result in the treatment becoming much more widespread.

Dr Áine McCarthy, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the results were ‘promising.’

‘Modifying cells from a patient’s own immune system and using them to treat cancer, called CAR-T cell therapy, has been showing potential in leukaemia and lymphoma in recent years.’

Dr Alasdair Rankin, Director of Research at the blood cancer research charity Bloodwise, said the findings were ‘clearly very promising.’

‘More follow-up time and further studies will be needed to establish whether its effects are long-lasting and if a wider range of patients could benefit from this specific approach.’