Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

3 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

3 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

4 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

4 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

4 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

4 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

4 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

5 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

5 days ago
Doctors Try CRISPR Gene Editing for Cancer, a 1st in the US
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
November 6, 2019

Share

The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have had it so far, but it’s too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported Wednesday.

“It’s the most complicated genetic, cellular engineering that’s been attempted so far. This is proof that we can safely do gene editing of these cells.” Dr. Edward Stadtmauer of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia
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 treatment deletes three genes that might have been hindering these cells’ ability to attack the disease, and 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 the study leader, Dr. Edward Stadtmauer of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “This is proof that we can safely do gene editing of these cells.”
After two to three months, one patient’s cancer continued to worsen and another was stable. The third patient was treated too recently to know how she’ll fare. The plan is to treat 15 more patients and assess safety and how well it works.

Chinese Scientists Reportedly Have Tried This for Cancer Patients

“It’s very early, but I’m incredibly encouraged by this,” said one independent expert, Dr. Aaron Gerds, a Cleveland Clinic cancer specialist.

This study is not aimed at changing DNA within a person’s body. Instead it seeks to remove, alter and give back to the patient cells that are super-powered to fight their cancer — a form of immunotherapy.
Other cell therapies for some blood cancers “have been a huge hit, taking diseases that are uncurable and curing them,” and the gene editing may give a way to improve on those, he said.
Gene editing is a way to permanently change DNA to attack the root causes of a disease. CRISPR is a tool to cut DNA at a specific spot. It’s long been used in the lab and is being tried for other diseases.
This study is not aimed at changing DNA within a person’s body. Instead it seeks to remove, alter and give back to the patient cells that are super-powered to fight their cancer — a form of immunotherapy.
Chinese scientists reportedly have tried this for cancer patients, but this is the first such study outside that country. It’s so novel that it took more than two years to get approval from U.S. government regulators to try it.
The early results were released by the American Society of Hematology; details will be given at its annual conference in December.

So Far, the Cells Have Survived and Have Been Multiplying as Intended

The study is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in San Francisco, and a biotech company, Tmunity Therapeutics. Several study leaders and the university have a financial stake in the company and may benefit from patents and licenses on the technology.
Two of the patients have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and the third has a sarcoma, cancer that forms in connective or soft tissue. All had failed multiple standard treatments and were out of good options.
Their blood was filtered to remove immune system soldiers called T cells, which were modified in the lab and then returned to the patients through an IV. It’s intended as a one-time treatment. The cells should multiply into an army within the body and act as a living drug.
So far, the cells have survived and have been multiplying as intended, Stadtmauer said.
“This is a brand new therapy” so not it’s not clear how soon any anti-cancer effects will be seen. Following these patients longer, and testing more of them, will tell, he said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

DON'T MISS

Trump’s World Liberty Token Falls in First Day of Trading

DON'T MISS

Bessent Expects Supreme Court to Uphold Legality of Trump’s Tariffs but Eyes Plan B

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

DON'T MISS

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

UP NEXT

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

UP NEXT

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

UP NEXT

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

UP NEXT

New $250 Visa Fee Risks Deepening US Travel Slump

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Hearing Ends Without Ruling On Trump’s Firing Of Fed Governor Cook

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Launches New Task Force To Clear CA Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

8 hours ago

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

8 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

2 days ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

2 days ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

2 days ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

2 days ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

2 days ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

2 days ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

2 days ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

2 days ago

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

Tulare County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting that left a man injured in Porterville on Monday afternoon. Deputies were call...

6 hours ago

A man was hospitalized after being shot Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, afternoon in Porterville, and Tulare County sheriff’s detectives are investigating. (Tulare County SO)
6 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

Zach Witkoff, Co-Founder and CEO of World Liberty Financial, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump pose before they ring the opening bell to celebrate the closing of ALT5’s $1.5 billion offering and adoption of its $WLFI Treasury Strategy at the Nasdaq Market, in New York City, U.S., August 13, 2025. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Trump’s World Liberty Token Falls in First Day of Trading

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent pays his bill during a Labor Day visit to McLean Family Restaurant in McLean, Virginia, U.S., September 1, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
6 hours ago

Bessent Expects Supreme Court to Uphold Legality of Trump’s Tariffs but Eyes Plan B

Former New York City Mayor and former lawyer for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani walks outside United States District Court in Manhattan, where a judge will consider a request by two Georgia election workers to whom he owes $148 million for defamation to hold him in civil contempt for failing to turn over his assets, in New York City, U.S., January 3, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Trump Says Rudy Giuliani Will Receive Top US Civilian Honor

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg departs with other activists on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, from the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. The Sagrada Familia is seen in the background. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Aid Flotilla for Gaza Departs Barcelona After Stormy Weather Turnaround

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
2 days ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend