Novel Genetic Experiment Shrinks Tough-to-Treat Cancer: AP News

- Photo from the Providence Cancer Institute of Oregon in May 2022 shows Kathy Wilkes of Ormond Beach, Fla. Wilkes, with advanced pancreatic cancer, saw her tumors dramatically shrink after researchers in Oregon turbocharged her own immune cells, highlighting a possible new way to someday treat a variety of cancers.
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- Associated Press, June 1, 2022.

In a novel experiment, a woman with advanced pancreatic cancer saw her tumors dramatically shrink after researchers in Oregon turbocharged her own immune cells, highlighting a possible new way to someday treat a variety of cancers.

Kathy Wilkes isn’t cured but said what’s left of her cancer has shown no sign of growth since the one-time treatment last June. “I knew that regular chemotherapy would not save my life and I was going for the save,” said Wilkes, of Ormond Beach, Florida, who tracked down a scientist thousands of miles away and asked that he attempt the experiment.

The research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, explores a new method of harnessing the immune system to create “living drugs” able to seek and destroy tumors. “It’s really exciting. It’s the first time this sort of treatment has worked in a very difficult-to-treat cancer type,” said Dr. Josh Veatch of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who wasn’t involved with the experiment.

It’s just a first step and far more research is needed, he cautioned -- noting that Wilkes is one of only two people known to have tried this exact approach and it failed in the other patient. Still, Veatch said the findings are “a proof of principle that this is possible” and that other researchers also are testing this type of immunotherapy. ~

https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-health-oregon-genetics-d65b649692be6991676f3fe19e31cc4d



- Photo from the Providence Cancer Institute of Oregon in May 2022 shows Dr. Eric Tran, who leads a cellular immunotherapy research lab. In research published on Wed., June 1, 2022, Tran genetically engineered a patient’s T cells so they could spot a mutant protein that's hidden inside her tumor cells - and only there, not in healthy cells.