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[00:00.76]An experimental therapy uses a person's weak immune system
[00:05.72]to fight deadly blood cancers.
[00:09.64]Stanley Riddell is a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
[00:15.24]in the U.S. state of Washington.
[00:18.05]He and his colleagues added molecules to immune cells
[00:22.44]that attack cancer cells.
[00:24.52]They put the modified cells back in the patient,
[00:28.40]where they multiply and fight cancer.
[00:32.60]"So, that's the one interesting thing about this.
[00:35.84]It doesn't require repeated treatments
[00:38.68]or repetitive cycles of chemotherapy," said Riddell.
[00:43.00]"That's what I think in the future may be most important for patients
[00:48.24]¨C that it's a single treatment instead of many months of treatment."
[00:53.92]It has shown great promise in small trials with patients.
[00:59.24]In one study of 35 patients with a type of leukemia,
[01:04.08]94 percent experienced a complete remission.
[01:08.65]Fifty percent to 80 percent of patients with other blood cancers
[01:14.76]also saw a reduction in symptoms.
[01:18.60]Riddell said, "This is encouraging
[01:21.68]because these are all patients who have failed all conventional therapies,
[01:26.64]including many kinds of bone marrow and stem cell transplants."
[01:32.36]Getting these very high rates of remission
[01:35.84]is "obviously very exciting for us," he added.
[01:40.00]These patients do not have any other treatment options
[01:44.16]that are likely to work.
[01:46.13]Immune system cells usually fight invading viruses and bacteria.
[01:52.36]They can also combat cancer.
[01:55.24]But they are soon overwhelmed by the disease.
[01:59.88]The work by Hutchinson researchers
[02:02.32]increases this natural cancer-fighting ability.
[02:06.76]Using the immune system has also shown promise against skin cancer
[02:11.88]and some lung cancers.
[02:14.38]But for other cancers,
[02:16.68]immunotherapy is considered a last resort.
[02:21.52]Riddell said he thinks that may change.
[02:24.80]In some cases, it may be better than chemotherapy
[02:28.08]or even replace it, he said.
[02:30.58]I'm Mary Gotschall.