http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/2268735.stm
Thursday, 19 September, 2002, 23:00 GMT 00:00 UK
Immune cells 'beat cancer' (excerpts)
Patients with skin cancer were studied
Specially trained immune cells are being harnessed to shrink tumours in cancer patients.
US researchers used the cells to treat patients with skin cancer who had not responded to other therapies, and saw "promising" results.
They hope more research will allow the technique to be used to treat different types of cancer and infectious diseases such as Aids.
Scientists treated 13 patients with metastatic melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.
They were given immune cells created in the laboratory to destroy tumours in a process called adoptive transfer.
In six patients, tumours shrunk by at least 50%, and there was no growth or appearance of new tumours.
Four patients saw some cancer growths disappear.