An experimental cancer therapy is being credited with the complete remission of skin cancer in a 52-year-old patient who had been given a year to live. The new approach, which is being pioneered at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, involves multiplying the number of helper T cells that can latch onto cancer cells and injecting them into the patient, guiding killer T cells to their target. The new approach is promising, say the scientists, because it's much less toxic than standard therapy. But they also note that the remission occurred in only one patient in a very small study, leaving plenty of work ahead.
- read the artsicle in the New York Times