A world-first gene therapy which turns white blood cells into a disease-busting “living drug” has reversed previously untreatable blood cancers, according to recently released research funded by Blood Cancer UK.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and King’s College Hospital in London treated nine children and two adults with T-cell leukaemia using the technique, which scientists said triggered a “deep remission” in the majority. Seven are still disease-free three years later.
Developed by GOSH and University College London (UCL), the technique involves editing the genetic code of donor T-cells to target cancer cells without being rejected by the body. This base-editing is an advanced version of CRISPR technology.
“A few years ago this would have been science fiction,” said…