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November 27, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Attack of the Clones"

Science News (www.sciencenews.org) (11/16/02) Vol. 162, No. 20, P. 309; Seppa, Nathan

Findings in recent years have overturned the belief that the human immune system does not recognize cancer because it is created by the body itself.  However, the cells that do see the cancer are usually so few in number that they are useless.  In order to determine if extracting the T cells and cloning them, then reinjecting them into the body would have any effect on the immune system's reaction to cancer, Steven A. Rosenberg and other researchers with the National Cancer Institute recruited 13 patients to undergo the investigational therapy.  After killing the patients' white blood cells and T cells before injecting them with the cloned T cells, the scientists were able to create an immune system in which the cloned T cells were dominant.  Six patients saw their cancer go into remission for periods of two months to 24 months, while four patients experienced shrinkage in some tumors and growth in others.  A similar study in Seattle without the destruction of white blood cells and T cells before clone injection demonstrated far less dramatic results.  The cancer was stabilized in several patients, but none had tumor regression.

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