A new research conducted in China managed is the first to have ever injected a subject with cells containing edited genes through the CRISPR-Cas9 technique. The method is revolutionary and no other scientific team managed to use it in a formal study so far.
The injection was administered Oct. 28, by oncologist Lu You, lead author of the research, and his team from the Sichuan University in Chengdu. The experimental treatment was carried out at the West China Hospital in Chengdu, as part of the clinical trial.
Gene Editing - A Step Closer To Curing Cancer
Previous researches on the matter have managed to employ edited genes in the treatment of patients suffering from different stages of cancer. However, no other research has used this revolutionary method in the attempt to fight the disease until the current study.
The CRISPR is easier to use, and it also theoretically solves many of the problems posed by other gene editing techniques. The method of editing genes is also used in treating patients suffering from different diseases, such as leukemia.
CRISPR-Cas9: Revolutionary Technique Against Cancer
According to a immunotherapy researcher in Pennsylvania, author of one of the previous researches in the field, should this technique prove to be effective, it will most likely become widely used.
The competition between the American and the Chinese scientific quests is ultimately working in the best interests of cancer patients worldwide, who are the beneficiaries of these techniques.
So far, only one patient was administered the medicine. However, should the trial go without any unforeseen issues, other nine patients will follow. The subjects will be given between one and four dosages of the injections.
The first treatment was programed to start back in August; however, due to the delay caused by the process of culturing and amplifying cells, the date was postponed.
The process employed by this treatment involved removing the immune cells from the subject's blood, followed by the disassembly of the gene employing the CRISPR-Cas9 technique. The injection combines an enzyme that cuts DNA, which follows a molecular path that can be programed in order to establish the treatment's action in the body.
The treatment aims to cut out the PD-1 protein, which is an immune cell response that cancerous cells use in order to survive in the patients' bodies. Should there be no powerful adverse reactions, the first patient will also be administered a second shot. However, due to patient confidentiality, the medical team conducting the research refused to divulge more about their first trial subject.
