Chinese scientists develop low-cost cell therapy for cancer, asthma, autoimmune diseases
This new method is much easier to programme than the conventional approach and is available at a fraction of the cost, according to experts in the field.
The treatment, known as CAR-T, is a type of immunotherapy that has taken off in recent years and has also shown promise in treating other conditions such as
asthma and autoimmune diseases. However, these cell therapies are difficult to produce and deliver to patients, and
they are expensive
A group of Chinese
medical experts has now proposed a solution to these drawbacks, using gene therapy tools. They reported that they had managed to produce anticancer cells directly inside the human body and, for the first time, had used them to treat four patients with multiple myeloma – the second most common form of blood cancer.
Currently, the cost of a single treatment is estimated to exceed one million yuan (US$139,200).
The study, led by researchers from the Institute of Haematology at Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, was published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet earlier this month.
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