angerous form of cancer learned to treat with the help of genetic engineering

These results are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine .

Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas is a malignant neoplasm, in which the one-year survival rate is only 28%, the five-year survival rate is 5-7%. Most patients are diagnosed after the formation of metastases.

This type of cancer is characterized by an increased risk of getting sick with unfavorable paternal heredity. In total, 8-12 cases of the disease per 100 thousand people are recorded annually. Mostly in elderly people.

Cathy Wilks, a 71-year-old patient from the United States, was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, she turned to Dr. Eric Tran of the Earl A. Chiles Research Institute. The specialist is known for gene therapy research using T-cell reprogramming. The results of his tests were not always successful , but the woman decided to take a chance.

Adoptive cell therapy involved taking Wilks' blood and then isolating T cells from the immune system. After these cells were reprogrammed for a specific mutation of cancer cells.

In June 2021, doctors expanded the enhanced T cells and infused 16 billion of them back into the patient. Over the next 30 days, tumor size decreased by 62% and metastases by 72%. This did not cure Kathy Wilks of her cancer, but it did improve her life and, with medication, keep the disease under control.

In the future, the specialist and his team want to continue testing their method, for which 24 volunteers have already been recruited.