According to a story from finanznachrichten.de, the Korean biopharmaceutical company Biocure Technology, Inc., recently announced the results of a pre-clinical trial that tested CAR-T cell therapy as a treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia. The data from this trial was positive and suggests that this form of therapy could be an effective option for patients dealing with this form of cancer.
About Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Acute lymphocytic leukemia is a type of blood cancer. The cells affected by this type of cancer are called lymphocytes, which are a form of white blood cell. This cancer is usually caused when a lymphocytes attains several mutations that affect the development of these blood cells. A number of different genetic mutations have been linked to the disease, but only when several appear at once does the risk for this cancer begin to rise. Other risk factors include radiation, certain types of chemotherapy, and a high birth weight. Symptoms of acute lymphocytic leukemia include weakness, fatigue, bone and joint pain, heavy bruising, anemia, loss of weight and appetite, swelling in the legs and abdomen, and testicular enlargement. Treatment may include chemo, radiation, biological therapy, and immunotherapy. Five year survival rate is poor for adults at just 35 percent. To learn more about acute lymphocytic leukemia, click here.
About The Pre-Clinical Trial
The trial utilized a mouse model of the disease. When the CAR-T cells were injected into mice with cancer, it was capable of inducing remission in as little as 7 days or as long as 28 days. Additionally, the mice did not appear to experience any major side effects to the treatment. These findings are highly encouraging and are being hailed as one of the first breakthroughs made in Korea.
CAR-T Cell Therapy
CAR-T cell therapy is a unique type of immunotherapy in which T-cells are withdrawn from a patient and subsequently modified. They are modified to detect a certain protein that appears on the surface of cancer cells extracted from the patient. These modified cells are then propagated in the lab setting and ultimately reintroduced into the patient’s body. The modified cells are now specifically tuned to exclusively destroy cancer cells.
As survival rates for acute lymphocytic leukemia are not very good, CAR-T cell therapy could represent a dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of treatment if it does well in trials with human patients.
