Scientists are close to making widely available a revolutionary treatment that could stop cancer from ever coming back, an international conference heard on Monday.
Dubbed a ‘living drug’, the treatment will act in a similar way to a vaccine, by being constantly alert for the disease returning.
It is created from T-cells – white blood cells that normally fight off viruses and bacteria – which are removed from the patient and genetically tweaked to recognise and attack their cancer.
The genetically-modified cells are then grown in their millions in a lab before being infused back into the patient, where they hunt down and destroy the cancer cells. Scientists around the world are perfecting the technique, and a series of trials have shown it to have remarkable potential.
Some of the most exciting results come from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, where doctors gave ten patients infusions of T-cells and watched how long they lasted in the body.
T-cell immunotherapy hit headlines last year when British baby Layla Richards became one of the first people in the world to be given the treatment, which is made from the body’s own cells.
Now, two landmark studies have revealed the therapy’s stunning potential.
Read More: Mail Online