Expansionary Institute

Gene find sparks hope for new leukaemia treatments,

Gene find sparks hope for new leukaemia treatments

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - British scientists said on Monday they have developed immune system cells that can recognise and kill leukaemia cells without damaging healthy ones.

Dr Hans Stauss, one of the researchers at Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College in London who engineered the cells, said they could form the basis for new treatments for the deadly blood cancer.

"The principle we have developed can be applied to almost all forms of leukaemia and could signal a huge step forward in how we treat the disease," Stauss said in a statement.

The immune system T-cells recognise a marker, or label, on the cancerous cells produced by a gene called WT-1. The label allows them to pick out and destroy the cancerous cells.

"What makes this work even more exciting is that our findings can also be applied to solid cancers, such as breast or lung cancer, where there is similar over expression of WT-1. The possibilities for new treatments are enormous," Stauss added.

He and his colleagues were able to engineer the immune cells after identifying the WT-1 gene during six years of research into leukaemia.

Early tests of the immune cells have been promising. The scientists said they hope to begin clinical trials with leukaemia patients within two years.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time in the world that anyone has identified a target which allows T-cells to selectively destroy cells that cause leukaemia," said Professor Robert Winston, the director of research and development of London's Hammersmith Hospital which is participating in the research.

Each year 18,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with leukaemia or a related blood cancer.

10:11 01-15-01
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Mon Jan 15