Woman still in remission 18 years after pioneering cancer therapy

A woman treated with a pioneering type of immunotherapy for a solid cancerous tumour has been in remission for more than 18 years with no further treatments, experts have revealed.

- Nicola Davis

The therapy involves taking T-cells, a type of white blood cell, from a patient and genetically engineering them to target and kill cancer cells. These modified T-cells are grown in a laboratory and then infused back into the patient.

Known as CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy, the approach has proved particularly successful in treating certain types of blood cancers. Next-generation forms of the therapy have been approved for such cancers in countries including the US and UK.

However, response rates have been less encouraging in solid tumours, and long-term outcomes are unclear.