Single Shot Kills Leukemia?

[Hoofbite]

This would be one monumental achievement if these results can be replicated on a much bigger scale.

"In the research published Wednesday, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania say the treatment made the most common type of leukemia completely disappear in two of the patients and reduced it by 70 percent in the third. In each of the patients as much as five pounds of cancerous tissue completely melted away in a few weeks, and a year later it is still gone."

Wow, I was going to leave the thread as this with just the link but reading this next part is absolutely astonishing.

"Using a modified, harmless version of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, they inserted a series of genes into the white blood cells. These were designed to make to cells target and kill the cancer cells. After growing a large batch of the genetically engineered white blood cells, the doctors injected them back into the patients."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44090512/ns/health-cancer/?GT1=43001

 

[ethiostar]

Wow!! That's awesome news.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Yeah but what other disease will you get from this treatment.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Yeah but what other disease will you get from this treatment.

Better than the alternative. I saw my grandpa weighing 75lbs when he died of leukemia. Wasn't pretty at all.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Better than the alternative. I saw my grandpa weighing 75lbs when he died of leukemia. Wasn't pretty at all.

Depends on the disease. It might cure the leukemia and give you HIV. I'd rather die of leukemia.

 

[Longboysfan]

Why just for Lukemia. Should it not take care of all Cancers?
Just adjust it a bit.

 

[LehighCowboy]

I'm currently doing research this summer at UPenn Med school. All I can tell you is that I've seen a lot of high fives thrown around the school recently about this. This is HUGE.

 

[NeonNinja]

I'm currently doing research this summer at UPenn Med school. All I can tell you is that I've seen a lot of high fives thrown around the school recently about this. This is HUGE.

Keep us posted if you hear any updates.

 

[peplaw06]

Yeah but what other disease will you get from this treatment.

Have you seen I Am Legend?

In all seriousness, crossing fingers this is the breakthrough we all hope it is.

 

[DFWJC]

WOW!!

If this holds up....well, we can dream.

Thanks for the news.

 

[The30YardSlant]

I've heard very mixed opinions on things like this. Many are always very optimistic, and many are extremely skeptical. I tend to fall into the latter group. I've seen so many "miracle" cures go away as quickly as they came about in just my years of medical school. This just seems like another.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Have you seen I Am Legend?

In all seriousness, crossing fingers this is the breakthrough we all hope it is.

Agreed.

 

[arglebargle]

I've heard very mixed opinions on things like this. Many are always very optimistic, and many are extremely skeptical. I tend to fall into the latter group. I've seen so many "miracle" cures go away as quickly as they came about in just my years of medical school. This just seems like another.

Thing is, just like in other fields, there are all sorts of theoretical approaches to new breakthroughs. Most of them don't make it to the mainstream due to one flaw or another. But that doesn't matter, all that has to happen is for one of them to work.

Skepticism is probably the right general approach, but with all this focus on research, something will eventually succeed.

This one would be nice, that's for sure.

 

[ZeroClub]

I'm usually skeptical about news of this type, but this one feels like it just might be the real deal...

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Yeah but what other disease will you get from this treatment.

Supposedly there are no side effects with this treatment.

I hope this is a great medical breakthrough! The electronics and communications industries have made great breakthroughs the past decades. I'm hoping the medical field can do some really great things. They are making progress just not at the speed and depth of the electronics and communications.

 

[VietCowboy]

this is awesome! it's tough to make it out trials, but hope it works out and becomes a routine treatment.

 

[Eskimo]

Why just for Lukemia. Should it not take care of all Cancers?
Just adjust it a bit.

Each cancer is pretty much an entirely different disease.

Sometimes some chemotherapies can be used against multiple difference cancer types but most of the old generation are toxins that kill reguar cells and cancer cells but just kill cancer cells faster because they are much more metabolically active and reproducing like crazy.

This is another form of targeted cancer therapy. It will only work against lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) because it uses the HIV virus which mostly targets T-cells cellular markers to gain entry to the lympocytes. It then probably has some sort of gene therapy embedded inside that will cause the lymphocytes which are affected by leukemia to either self-destruct or mark them to be killed by the immune system.

I'm afraid most such techniques will have to be individually developed over time against each particular type of cancer.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Each cancer is pretty much an entirely different disease.

Sometimes some chemotherapies can be used against multiple difference cancer types but most of the old generation are toxins that kill reguar cells and cancer cells but just kill cancer cells faster because they are much more metabolically active and reproducing like crazy.

This is another form of targeted cancer therapy. It will only work against lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) because it uses the HIV virus which mostly targets T-cells cellular markers to gain entry to the lympocytes. It then probably has some sort of gene therapy embedded inside that will cause the lymphocytes which are affected by leukemia to either self-destruct or mark them to be killed by the immune system.

I'm afraid most such techniques will have to be individually developed over time against each particular type of cancer.

I always like reading your posts. I wanted to ask you a few medical questions if you don't mind.

 

[ethiostar]

Each cancer is pretty much an entirely different disease.

Sometimes some chemotherapies can be used against multiple difference cancer types but most of the old generation are toxins that kill reguar cells and cancer cells but just kill cancer cells faster because they are much more metabolically active and reproducing like crazy.

This is another form of targeted cancer therapy. It will only work against lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) because it uses the HIV virus which mostly targets T-cells cellular markers to gain entry to the lympocytes. It then probably has some sort of gene therapy embedded inside that will cause the lymphocytes which are affected by leukemia to either self-destruct or mark them to be killed by the immune system.

I'm afraid most such techniques will have to be individually developed over time against each particular type of cancer.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[casmith07]

Depends on the disease. It might cure the leukemia and give you HIV. I'd rather die of leukemia.

People with HIV live long, normal lives these days with the proper treatment.

One of my childhood friends died of leukemia over 10 years ago. I would never wish that disease on anyone. He weighed under 75 lbs as a 13 year old boy when he died.