Novel treatment shows promise against rare cancer in kids
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer
A novel treatment using supercharged immune cells appears to work against tumors in children with a rare kind of cancer. Researchers reported the finding Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Nine of 27 children in the Italian study had no sign of cancer six weeks after treatment, although two later relapsed and died. The treatment is called CAR-T cell therapy. It’s already used to fight leukemia and other cancers in the blood. Experts say this study in children with neuroblastoma is the first time the therapy has worked well in solid tumors. That raises hopes that it can be used against other kinds of cancer.
