Gene Therapy Breakthrough

First Documented Cases Of Gene Altering Save 2 Melanoma Patients

(CBS/AP)  The NCI's Dr. Steven Rosenberg has long led the tantalizing research field of how the body's immune system might be harnessed to fight cancer. White blood cells called T-lymphocytes hunt down germs and other foreign tissue. Unfortunately, cancerous cells look a lot like healthy cells, making it hard for those T-cells to spot a problem.

By 2002, Rosenberg had made a breakthrough when he found small numbers of cancer-fighting T-cells inside some patients with advanced melanoma. He literally pulled those cells out of the patients' blood and grew billions more in laboratory dishes, enough to have a chance at overwhelming a tumor. By suppressing the patients' normal immune system to make room for the extra T-cells and then pumping them into their bodies, about half significantly improve.

"Where as a virus or bacteria sets off alarm bells in the immune system, the cancer is barely recognized. The goal of this immunotherapy and gene therapy is to enhance that tiny anti-tumor reaction that the body has, and magnify it so that it can cause destruction of the cancer," Rosenberg said.

But few melanoma patients make enough cancer-fighting T-cells naturally for scientists to cull any from their bloodstream, and T-cells that attack more common cancers are virtually impossible to find. So Rosenberg and colleagues set out to create tumor fighters from scratch.

The scientists took normal lymphocytes — ones that don't recognize cancer — out of 17 patients with advanced melanoma who had exhausted their treatment options. In the lab, they infected those cells with a virus carrying genes that create T-cell receptors, essentially homing devices for, in this case, melanoma. (Different genes create receptors for other cancers.)

"We can take a normal cell from you or me or any patient and ... convert that cell into a cell that recognizes the cancer," Rosenberg explained.

In 15 of the patients, the reinfused, newly armed cells took root and grew at low levels for a few months. But Origer and a second patient grew super-high T-cell levels for over a year, as their tumors gradually faded.

"It's not like chemotherapy or radiation, where as soon as you're done, you're done," said Rosenberg, who is modifying the treatment to better take hold in more patients. "We're giving living cells which continue to grow and function in the body."

Origer had hoped just to survive for his daughter's wedding when he was treated in December 2004. A month later, he recalls, NCI doctors broke into wide grins as they saw his tumors already shrinking. By the time Origer walked his daughter down the aisle last fall, only a small cancerous spot remained visible in his liver, one that surgeons later removed.

"I know how fortunate I am to have gone through this and responded to this. Not everybody's that lucky," he said in an interview.

[ronniehm]

DAhart, the Anderson Center studied her results and they disagree with you. They also studied this therapy. Now don't you think they would have mentioned something if they were looking at the same thing they already studied? You want to know who would be better to verify her results besides her? I say ANYBODY. Even Hwang Woo-suk would be better. You remember him. He's the scientist who bragged about how successful his cloning research was. It wasn't.

[lochlan-2009]

I sure hope this is a path that actually leads somewhere. With so many people sick with this disease, it's sad when they keep giving hope of a cure and than you hear nothing about it ever again than they come out with another idea that fades to nothing. It does sound plausible, though.

[dahart1]

RonnieHM

There were NO legit studies ever done on the Livingston-Wheeler protocol! Anyway, who better to evaluate her work than her own records? I have studied her for many years and my conclusion was she was falsely villified as a quack. She was considered a respected researcher for years until she started treating cancer. What you are reading and refering to were hatchet jobs/opinions done by the various competing institutes and other medical powers that could not fathom that cancer could be caused by a microbe. I don't want to debate the cancer/microbe link here, but medicine is finding that microbe link more and more plausible every day. Ever hear of the current "new" cervix vaccine? The bottom line is that by the use of this current genetic manipulation, these researchers are causing the body to attack the tumor. Livingston-Wheeler did the same thing via vacination and the strengthening of the immune system years earlier.

[iamkywoman]

My brother has just been diagnosed with esophagus cancer which has spread to liver, will this ever be something that could be used towards this type of cancer?? From all sources so far we are finding out that there if just not a whole lot of hope with this type cancer. He has been given approx. 8-9 months to live, of course no one can guessimate such thing but I pray something like this could come along for patients in this same boat. Thanks :)

[katia327]

"And the cancer institute hopes to begin testing it soon against cancers more common than melanoma, such as advanced breast or colon cancer."

My father passed away just recently from lung cancer. All you EVER hear on the news is breast cancer...breast cancer..breast cancer. I would like to hear more about tests for lung cancer, and the success they might be having. I would like to see more PUBLICITY and fighting, and people raising money for more research, for people who have lung cancer. Even though it is too late for my Dad, it is NOT too late for others.
I would ALSO like to see ribbons/pins, people can buy and wear, for every OTHER type of cancer. All you see out there are pink ribbons. For BREAST cancer. It is NOT the only cancer out there.

[ronniehm]

DAhart, every study done of Livingston-Wheeler's therapy showed absolutely no increase in survival rates for her patients. The only one that showed success was the study she did herself.

[rlkingebpa]

I am a current patient of Dr. Rosenberg's and this story does not begin to tell the story of this man's dedication and desire to find a cure for melanoma. I was one of the 15 whose treatment was not fully successful but have repeated the protocol with a slighly modified approach. So far we have experienced a positive response. I feel fortunate to have Dr. Rosenberg and his team of physicians and researchers in my corner!

[dahart1]

Oh, one more thing! I might add Dr. Wheeler had a much more impressive cure rate than these scientists's 2 in 17.

[dahart1]

Have they never heard of Virginia Livingston-Wheeler, MD. This woman did the same thing back in the 1970s, 80s, until her clinic was shut down by the California Health Department as quackery in 1990. The only thing different from today's "new development" was she used good old fashion and simple vaccination procedures to do the same thing these scientists are doing with expensive gene therapy. Her form of genetically engineering white blood cells was simple, cheap and more effective. Can you imagine the price tag on genetically engineering each white blood cell as projected in today's story? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I cannot believe how absolutely dumb the Government medical establishment can be.

[willie0691]

My father heard this on the new today and we were wondering if this could be something (gene altering)that is used for Mantle cell lymphoma? That is what he has. Thanks

[willie0691]

My father heard this on the new today and we were wondering if this could be something (gene altering)that is used for Mantle cell lymphoma? That is what he has. Thanks

[willie0691]

My father heard this on the new today and we were wondering if this could be something (gene altering)that is used for Mantle cell lymphoma? That is what he has. Thanks

[willie0691]

My father heard this on the new today and we were wondering if this could be something (gene altering)that is used for Mantle cell lymphoma? That is what he has. Thanks