T cell therapy leads to remission in two CLL patients

Treatment with genetically modified autologous T cells led to sustained remission in two of three patients with chemotherapy-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to a Phase I study conducted by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The third patient achieved a partial response.

The patients received autologous T cells genetically modified ex vivo to express a CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) -- a hybrid protein containing an antibody's antigen recognition domain fused to T cell activating domains. The researchers said the modified cells expanded in vivo and remained in the patients' blood and bone marrow. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine. ...