Doctors safely used CRISPR technology on 3 cancer patients in the US for first time
The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in three patients who’ve had it so far, doctors reported Wednesday. The doctors were able to take immune system cells from the patients’ blood and alter them genetically to help them recognize and fight cancer, with minimal and manageable side effects, the AP reports. The treatment deletes three genes that might have been hindering these cells’ ability to attack the disease, as well as adds a new, fourth feature to help them do the job. “It’s the most complicated genetic, cellular engineering that’s been attempted so far,” said study leader Dr. Edward Stadtmauer of the University of Pennsylvania. Two of the patients have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and the third has a sarcoma, cancer that forms in connective or soft tissue.
https://www.newser.com/story/282739/a-big-first-in-gene-editing-in-the-us.html