Blood cancer patients respond well to T-cell therapy

The initial findings from a study on using T-cell therapy to eliminate tumors in blood cancer patients are promising. Announced during a meeting in Washington, D.C., the findings reveal that this form of cancer therapy reduces the patient's risk for relapse using immune cells which target blood cancer cells in the body.

The study examined patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who doctors projected had only five months to live, and found that more than 90 percent of patients showed signs of recovery after receiving treatment. Cancer cells showed no signs of redevelopment within the 18-month control period. T-cell therapy involves the removal of immune cells from patients which are then placed back inside the body.

In a clinical trial conducted on patients diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), nearly 80 percent of the patients responded well to the therapy. T-cells are a major part of the body's immune system and identify viruses and bacteria. These cells have the potential to recall previous infections in the body in order to launch a rapid immune response when the body comes under repeat attack.