At age 5, Emma Whitehead was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Two years ago it looked like the disease would kill her; she had relapsed twice after chemotherapy and all conventional treatments had failed. This extraordinary 4-minute film describes the experimental treatment that was her doctors’ last resort. The objective was to give Emma’s own immune system the ability to kill her cancer. The somewhat incredible method involved using a disabled form of HIV to reprogram Emma’s T-cells to recognise and attack tumour cells, and then injecting the improved T-cells (not the HIV, as this blog is at pains to point out) back into her.
The results have been dramatic: after a period of heightened fever, the storm passed, Emma woke up, and her leukaemia had disappeared entirely. Today she leads a healthy life.
While the treatment is still highly experimental, it is at least an exciting new avenue in cancer research.
See the film below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6SzI2ZfPd4
About the Author
