Cancer halted in 5 patients after genetically modified cells treatmentMarch 22, 2013 - 13:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A new form of cancer treatment has resulted in five patients experiencing complete remission of their disease with no detectable cancerous cells, scientists have announced, according to Belfast Telegraph. The patients had all experienced a serious relapse of a form of cancer of the white blood cells, called B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, before they received transfusions of their own immune cells that had been genetically modified with an extra cancer-fighting gene. Doctors treating the patients said that the results of the early-stage trial demonstrate that it may be possible to use the gene-therapy technique to control cancers in relapsed patients so that they can undergo a bone-marrow transplant with a donor's blood stem cells, leading to a complete cure. The patients had initially undergone chemotherapy to control their cancers but, as so often happens, the disease returned and could not be treated further by the same approach because the cancerous cells had developed resistance to the drugs. Scientists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York developed a form of targeted immunotherapy based on inserting an additional gene into the patients' white blood cells that enabled these cells to identify and destroy any cancerous cells circulating in the bloodstream. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |