Doctors: Cancer patients cured a decade after gene therapy

”Godspeed” to those fighting cancer and those developing these truly-remarkable, lifesaving treatments. “Best Wishes” to Doug Olson featured here and any other cancer survivors plaqued by one of life’s most insidious afflictions.

- “Based on the 10-year results, “we can now conclude that CAR-T cells can actually cure patients of leukemia,” said Dr. Carl June. The one-time treatment involves collecting the patient’s own T cells, white blood cells key to the immune system, and genetically changing them in the lab so that they will find and attack cancer cells. The modified cells are given back to the patient through IV.” -

Agreed, “Sad”. There are insidious afflictions here as well but of no real consequence in the grand scheme of life. Let them relish their feeble pettiness.

@zichi 11:40am: “Sad someone voted down positive comments about cancers.” -

snowymountainhellToday  12:05 pm JST

Agreed, “Sad”. There are insidious afflictions here as well but of no real consequence in the grand scheme of life. Let them relish their feeble pettiness.

*@zichi 11:40am**: “Sad someone voted down positive comments about cancers.” -*

1000%. Cancer takes on several forms and it's taken the lives of several of my relatives, friends, and cohorts in my life. It's horrifying. I saw one college friend on his last lap with lung cancer, it was enough to make you cry or throw up.

If this is true, if these patients are free from cancer for good then we have a tremendous breakthrough here! If we can cure people of one cancer, maybe we can cure them all. That's great news, folks! Momentous and historical.

After all, smallpox use to ravage the world and it has been completely wiped out. Plague used to be a huge menace too, now not as much. For that matter, most influenzas as well.

Yet I remember an episode on the original STAR TREK where in the 23rd century Dr. McCoy mentions that cancer has been eradicated but they still have the common cold!

Great news..

Good for the science..

No matter some medievals don't like it..

expatFeb. 6  01:37 pm JST

In point of fact, the definition of "cure" needs revision; typically a person who survives 5 years in remission is termed "cured", even though the cancer may later reappear. Given the nature of cancer, which is unlike other illnesses - which actually can be cured - it would take a breakthrough of this type for us to accurately define the word. Great to hear of their success, and hope that it is applicable to other forms of cancer.

I remember when the AIDS panic came out. When I was in the service, we were told 'you get AIDS, you die'. It's not like that now. I know a few people who got it in the 80's and they're still living today.

in point of fact, the definition of "cure" needs revision; typically a person who survives 5 years in remission is termed "cured", even though the cancer may later reappear.

It would be more productive to think about Cancer as a disease that can be cured but gotten again, like malaria or heart infarctions. The underlaying conditions for the disease (genes, lifestyle, etc) persist so the disease can reappear even if it was completely cured.