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The adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes reprogrammed to target tumour cells has demonstrated potential for treatment of various cancers. However, little is known about the long-term potential and clonal stability of the infused cells. Here we studied long-lasting CD19-redirected chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in two patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who achieved a complete remission in 2010. CAR T cells remained detectable more than ten years after infusion, with sustained remission in both patients. Notably, a highly activated CD4+ population emerged in both patients, dominating the CAR T cell population at the later time points. This transition was...

WITHIN just eight days of starting a novel gene therapy, David Aponte's "incurable" leukaemia had vanished. For four other patients, the same happened within eight weeks, although one later died from a blood clot unrelated to the treatment, and another after relapsing. The cured trio, who were all previously diagnosed with usually fatal relapses of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, have now been in remission for between 5 months and 2 years. Michel Sadelain of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, co-leader of the group that designed the trial, says that a second trial of 50 patients is being readied,...

An extract from grape seeds can destroy cancer cells, US research suggests. In lab experiments, scientists found that the extract stimulated leukaemia cells to commit suicide. Within 24 hours, 76% of leukaemia cells exposed to the extract were killed off, while healthy cells were unharmed, Clinical Cancer Research reports. The study raises the possibility of new cancer treatments, but scientists said it was too early to recommend that people eat grapes to ward off cancer. Grape seeds contain a number of antioxidants, including resveratrol, which is known to have anti-cancer properties, as well as positive effect on the heart. Previous...

Power lines in new link to childhood leukaemia By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 3:14am BST 21/04/2007 A leaked Government-commissioned report has raised fresh fears of a link between power lines and cancer. The Government has been urged to consider a ban on building new homes and schools near overhead high voltage power lines The draft paper urges ministers to consider banning the building of homes and schools close to overhead high voltage power cables to reduce significantly exposure to electromagnetic fields from the electricity grid. The Stakeholder Advisory Group on Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation (Sage) says a...

Researchers at The University of Manchester funded by the Fungal Research Trust have discovered millions of fungal spores right under our noses - in our pillows. Aspergillus fumigatus, the species most commonly found in the pillows, is most likely to cause disease; and the resulting condition Aspergillosis has become the leading infectious cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant patients. Fungi also exacerbate asthma in adults. The researchers dissected both feather and synthetic samples and identified several thousand spores of fungus per gram of used pillow - more than a million spores per pillow. Fungal contamination of bedding...

Sleeping with the light on 'raises child leukaemia' By Nic Fleming (Filed: 09/09/2004) Children should not be allowed to sleep with the light on because it inhibits the production of a hormone that protects them from cancer, a scientist said yesterday. Increased exposure to unnatural night-time light and the resultant reduced capacity to produce melatonin may be one of the reasons for the steady rise in childhood leukaemia over the past century. Babies up to the age of four or five months are believed to be particularly vulnerable because their bodies do not produce enough melatonin. Prof Russel Reiter, of...

Turmeric may reduce leukaemia risk - expert September 09 2004 at 04:22PM London - Turmeric, a spice used extensively in Asia as a key ingredient of curry, may be protecting children against leukaemia, a scientist said on Thursday. Rates of the blood cancer have been rising steadily for the past 50 years but its incidence in Asia is much lower than in the West. Professor Moolky Nagabhushan, of the Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago, told a conference that factor could be due, at least partly, to turmeric. "Some of the known risk factors that contribute to the high incidence...