FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, himself a survivor of blood cancer, predicted that this new approach to cancer treatment will “change the face of modern medicine.”Cancer researchers and physicians outside the agency shared Gottlieb’s enthusiasm. Crystal L. Mackall, associate director of Stanford University’s Cancer Institute, called Kymriah “a transformative therapy. (Novartis)It starts by harvesting a cancer patient’s T cells, the warriors of the immune system. The cells are delivered to a specialized lab where scientists alter their DNA, essentially reprogramming them to target cancer cells. Once infused into the bloodstream, the CAR-T cells are much better equipped to hunt down and kill cancer cells, wherever they may hide.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 31, 2017 00:32 UTC