Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
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Title: Cancer-Fighting Immune Cells Could Soon Be Engineered Inside Our
Bodies

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/05/27/1...

Researchers are developing techniques to genetically modify cancer-fighting
immune cells directly inside patients rather than in expensive laboratory
facilities, potentially making CAR-T therapy accessible to far more people.
Current CAR-T treatments require removing a patient's T cells, shipping them
to specialized facilities for genetic engineering, then returning them weeks
later at costs around $500,000 per dose. The new "in vivo" approaches use
viral vectors or RNA-loaded nanoparticles to deliver genetic instructions
directly to T cells circulating in the bloodstream, which could reduce costs
by an order of magnitude. Companies including Capstan Therapeutics, co-
founded by Nobel laureates, and AstraZeneca-backed EsoBiotec have launched
early human trials. While only about 200 US centers currently offer
traditional CAR-T therapy, the approach could make the powerful treatment
available on demand like conventional drugs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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