New findings at The University of Pennsylvania may signify a turning point in the long struggle to develop effective gene therapies against cancer, according to The New York Times.
A year ago, when
chemotherapy stopped working against his leukemia, William Ludwig signed up to be the first patient treated in a bold experiment at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Ludwig, then 65, a retired corrections officer from Bridgeton, N.J., felt his life draining away and thought he had nothing to lose.
Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells -- a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and
tumors -- and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his
cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins.
Source: The New York Times
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