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Manchester (pte044/02.04.2003/16:22) - Researchers at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research http://www.paterson.man.ac.uk say they have managed to turn simple blood cells into "cancer killers".
The British scientists genetically engineered white blood cells (T-lymphocytes) to be able to recognize and destroy tumors.
T-lymphocytes are responsible for the immune defence of cells. They protect the body's own tissue and attack invaders. Because cancer cells are also created by the body, it is difficult for the white blood cells to recognize and attack them.
The researchers circumvented this problem by genetically manipulating T-lymphocytes taken from patients with intestinal cancer. They fused a so-called "homing" gene specific to intestinal cancer with a "killer" gene that starts the white blood cells' immunological attack.
The resulting T-cells showed an impressive anti-cancer activity in further experiments. The hybrid gene appeared to destroy the cancer cells.
"We have supplied the immune cells with the equipment they need to destroy tumor cells," said researcher Robert Hawkins. The technique was 100 per cent effective in the laboratory, but the real test will be to try it with cancer patients. First tests with British patients have been scheduled for 2004.
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