In a recent study done by MIT researchers, Senti Bio is engineering immune cells, to be able to distinguish the difference between healthy and cancerous cells. Since proteins that are found on cancer cells, are often also found on healthy ones too, Senti Bio has been developing immune cells to make detecting this protein easier. Former MIT faculty member, Tim Lu said, "Kill anything displaying the cancer target, but spare anything that has this healthy target".
During the clinical trial, 2 of the 3 patients treated, experienced complete remission. Not even the bone marrow tests were able to detect any cancer cells. Senti Bio leaves hope for cancer patients, their lead clinical trial focused mainly on patients with relapsed or refractory blood cancers. However, they've been partnering with different companies, to perform more trials on patients with liver cancer.
As someone whose father has had two different forms of cancer already, learning about these new immune cells gives me hope. Nobody likes cancer, so knowing that there is a possibility of curing it, I think these new immune cells are an amazing idea. I believe that they're a huge step in the right direction.
I find this blog post gives us all a sense of hope. I have also had many family members go through the challenges of treating and fighting cancer. The idea of immune cells being able to distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells is incredible and could mean fewer painful side effects for patients. Hearing about complete remission in early trials is so encouraging, especially for those with relapsed or hard-to-treat cancers. It’s exciting to know that this research is also expanding to other types of cancers.
ReplyDeleteI do believe there's always a risk in public perception when publishing a new "cancer cure" due to the whole "they're hiding the cure for cancer" belief that many laymen hold. Despite this, it is always uplifting to hear how many avenues scientists are constantly attacking cancer by in order to make it a thing of the past. With the advent of AI opening countless new doors hopefully a streamlined "cure" for certain cancers will be a possibility within our lifetimes.
ReplyDeleteThis could be a huge break through in the medical field, but could also cause potential risks such as the engineered wbcs attacking non cancerous cells.
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