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American researchers have managed to modify, thanks to the genome editing method CRISPR, the immune systems of three cancer patients, without causing any side effects, study published in Science. The three patients received their own T cells (a type of white blood cell), genetically modified beforehand to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively. These lymphocytes remained in their blood for up to nine months, reports Wired.
Why it’s promising. This is the first clinical trial of Crispr in humans to treat cancer. It follows on from the first Chinese trials in 2016. At this stage, it has only been carried out on a very limited number of patients, and represents only a preliminary stage of research. It does not yet prove that this method can cure cancer. But the study shows, beyond the proof of feasibility, that this new tool is a priori non-toxic, and represents a step closer to the use of Crispr in the context of immunotherapy.
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