Promising immune therapy for acute leukemia evaluated
A new type of immune therapy for acute leukemia, called CAR T-cell therapy, is introduced in a clinical study at Uppsala University Hospital. IGP researchers Gunilla Enblad and Angelica Loskog are responsible for the study that has shown very promising results.
Both children and adults can get acute lymphocytic leukemia but in adults the disease is often very aggressive. New treatment strategies are required for those patients that do not respond to chemotherapy, or for whom the disease relapses.
The immune therapy that is presently being evaluated is based on T-cells, a type of immune cells that for instance defend our bodies against virus infections. Using gene therapy the T-cells are reinforced with so called CAR receptors, which allows them to also recognise and kill cancer cells.
Therapy with CAR T-cells has shown important effects on cancer patients worldwide, which has resulted in several new drugs. This is the first time that this new immune therapy is being tested on patients in Sweden, and the first time ever using this particular design of T-cells. Since the start almost a year ago ten patients have been treated. The research team is now planning on treating a few more patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia.
More information:
Angelica Loskog’s research (Link removed)