Free Republic

Periods of fasting reprogram the immune system's natural killer cells to better fight cancer, according to a study in mice. Now a team of researchers have shown for the first time that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer cells, helping them to survive in the harsh environment in and around tumors, while also improving their cancer-fighting ability. Natural killer cells, or NK cells for short, are a type of white blood cell that can kill abnormal or damaged cells, like cancer cells or cells infected with a virus. For the study, mice with cancer were denied food for...

Nkarta said Monday that two experimental, off-the-shelf treatments, both made from engineered natural killer cells, induced complete responses in patients with advanced forms of blood cancer. The results marked the first reveal of clinical data from its research programs. In one of the clinical trials, three of five patients with acute myeloid leukemia achieved complete remissions. Two of those patients showed no evidence of residual disease — the best response possible following treatment with the highest-tested dose of the Nkarta engineered natural killer, or NK, cells.