Scientists have discovered a new type of cancer treatment which targets and attacks tumor cells — and then waits in the body to destroy any more that might pop-up in the future.
According to BBC News, a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) came with claims that a new cancer treatment has been discovered which stops cancer from ever coming back.
This new type of therapy, called T-cell therapy, uses the bodies own immune cells to attack tumor cells that have spread throughout the body, working like a vaccine.
“In the laboratory and in clinical trials, we are seeing dramatic responses in patients with tumors that are resistant to conventional high-dose chemotherapy,” said Dr. Stanley Riddell, who presented the treatment at the AAAS meeting.
Like a vaccine, T-cell therapy tells the body’s own immune system to find and destroy cancer cells. Should it ever find any of those cells again, they will be destroyed as well.
White blood cells are removed from a patient and genetically engineered to remember to attack tumor cells. Millions of white blood cells are modified and put back in the patient — with the ability to kill tumor cells.
The scientists behind the new procedure are working to improve the technology by reducing potential side effects and having the ability to target a wider range of cancers.
During clinical trials, patients found that even 14 years after receiving the treatment, the T-cells were still present within them. After results like this, scientists are hoping that this type of immunotherapy will someday replace cell-damaging chemotherapy.