Teenager's Incurable Cancer Cleared With Revolutionary DNA-Editing Technique (bbc.com) 78
"A teenage girl's incurable cancer has been cleared from her body," reports the BBC, "in the first use of a revolutionary new type of medicine...."
Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital used "base editing" to perform a feat of biological engineering to build her a new living drug. Six months later the cancer is undetectable, but Alyssa is still being monitored in case it comes back.
Alyssa, who is 13 and from Leicester, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May last year.... Her cancer was aggressive. Chemotherapy, and then a bone-marrow transplant, were unable to rid it from her body.... The team at Great Ormond Street used a technology called base editing, which was invented only six years ago [which] allows scientists to zoom to a precise part of the genetic code and then alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions. The large team of doctors and scientists used this tool to engineer a new type of T-cell that was capable of hunting down and killing Alyssa's cancerous T-cells....
After a month, Alyssa was in remission and was given a second bone-marrow transplant to regrow her immune system.... Alyssa is just the first of 10 people to be given the drug as part of a clinical trial.
Her mother said that a year ago she'd been dreading Christmas, "thinking this is our last with her". But it wasn't.
And the BBC adds that applying the technology to cancer "only scratches the surface of what base editing could achieve.... There are already trials of base editing under way in sickle-cell disease, as well as high cholesterol that runs in families and the blood disorder beta-thalassemia."
Alyssa, who is 13 and from Leicester, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May last year.... Her cancer was aggressive. Chemotherapy, and then a bone-marrow transplant, were unable to rid it from her body.... The team at Great Ormond Street used a technology called base editing, which was invented only six years ago [which] allows scientists to zoom to a precise part of the genetic code and then alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions. The large team of doctors and scientists used this tool to engineer a new type of T-cell that was capable of hunting down and killing Alyssa's cancerous T-cells....
After a month, Alyssa was in remission and was given a second bone-marrow transplant to regrow her immune system.... Alyssa is just the first of 10 people to be given the drug as part of a clinical trial.
Her mother said that a year ago she'd been dreading Christmas, "thinking this is our last with her". But it wasn't.
And the BBC adds that applying the technology to cancer "only scratches the surface of what base editing could achieve.... There are already trials of base editing under way in sickle-cell disease, as well as high cholesterol that runs in families and the blood disorder beta-thalassemia."
Solid use of science (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Solid use of science (Score:5, Insightful)
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You might want to read Change Agent [theverge.com] by Daniel Suarez. The criticisms in the linked review are certainly valid, but so are the positive points. And it is spot on for this discussion.
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Well, this won't work to make you taller, if you're already an adult. It *might* work for hair color or skin color.
OTOH, I don't think the gp was thinking about optional uses of this.
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"The doctor gave me a pill and I grew a new kidney!!" https://youtu.be/Ssq8wHAx4nE?t... [youtu.be]
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No it isnt and stop with the theatrics. I want different hair. Why not? I also want to be taller. I also want to not have history of colon cancer in my body. Everything would be true if my base pairs were editable. This is a window to that future and it is a good thing. As long as the science holds, and it does not have any bad side effects, sounds like a winner to me. If you dont want it, do not have it.
I'm hoping to get a 12 inch tallywhacker via this.
The ladies tell me 16 inches is too much.
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Poof, wish granted. Too bad you now pass out from hypotension within seconds of seeing an attractive woman...
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Side effects are there with anything. You can't blame everything from their dog running away to their boyfriend cheating on side effects of the treatment. 2. some side effects will occur with anything. It is true, with any medical treatment, some percent of the people taking it WILL have side effects, but then a lot bigger percent of the people who don't take it will die. It's literally the equivalent of never traveling in a car because a certain percent of people who are in cars will get in an accident, th
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Sounds good to me (Score:2)
Targeting genetics is where we were always going to end up, and you can't stop the desire of every single parent on the planet to want a healthy, intelligent good looking child. The best you could do is block it from being used by the poor but that seems the more dangerous slope.
Face it, we are nearing the last generation of randos, within 30 years probably every single kid born will be like a genius supermodel, and then those that remain can enjoy the great works that come thereafter.
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I agree, but I hope we find out what the genes for empathy are too. Genius without empathy is dangerous. I mean, look at post-pandemic Elon Musk .. unable to subdue his fear, hatred, and anger.
That's not the vector what needs enhancing. (Score:3)
Genius without empathy is dangerous. I mean, look at post-pandemic Elon Musk ..
People are already all extremely empathetic, which is why they are so easy to manipulate into believing things that are untrue/
To me looks like we just need to bump up intelligence a lot, so people can recognize empathy [opindia.com] and not mistake it for something else or be misled b others with heavy GroupThink.
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> To me looks like we just need to bump up intelligence a lot, so people can recognize empathy [opindia.com] and not mistake it for something else or be misled b others with heavy GroupThink.
Curious how you define '"intelligence" and how you thing that leads to your expected outcome.
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thing > think
shaking my head ...
'... how you think your thing leads too ...'
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Genius without empathy is dangerous. I mean, look at post-pandemic Elon Musk .. unable to subdue his fear, hatred, and anger.
Pretty sure he's actually 0-for-2 there.
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"Curing" high cholesterol? Cookie eaters and dairy consumers rejoice I guess? LOL. Or, just don't eat those. Then you're "cured"...
Any Side Effects? (Score:1)
Re:Any Side Effects? (Score:5, Informative)
I think she'd argue that it's better than dying at the age of 14.
Hold up! (Score:2)
I think she'd argue that it's better than dying at the age of 14.
Unless she's a hellbent zealot on a warpath in which case she will argue that the doctors are playing God and on the path to eternal damnation before using that as a segue into some white supremacist crap. It's entirely unlikely, but I like to envision that she's a 4chan troll. :)
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Mother will kill her because "she was supposed to go to heaven". I mean, we can ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS count on the religious crazies in this world.
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Explain how creating a T-cell, a cell which has only one purpose and that is to fight a specific type of virus [asu.edu], could possibly cause any bodily mutation to occur. Let's hear your "research".
Re:Any Side Effects? (Score:5, Funny)
It's OK though, you can counter that with liberal doses of Brain Force (tm) and Hydroxychloroquine.
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It's not that it COULDN'T do that. (With engineering, anything is possible.) But... why? So many more interesting things in this world to play with than people's sexuality and cell phone tower emissions.
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So many more interesting things in this world to play with than people's sexuality
I don't know about that. Republican senators recently told me that people are sexually identifying as dogs and want litter trays in classrooms. I think there's nothing more interesting in the world than people's sexuality. ... Or at least what Team Outrage thinks people sexuality is...
Wait are we a protected class yet? In that case I sexually identify as someone who doesn't want to go to work today.
Sir this is totally fake news (Score:2)
So much for the tolerant left!
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you can counter that with liberal doses of Brain Force (tm) and Hydroxychloroquine.
Is anything safe from liberal meddling?!
Re: Any Side Effects? (Score:2, Interesting)
The human body appears to run on self-modifying code. A little change in one place can have huge implications elsewhere.
Having said that, I imagine the benefits outweigh the risks in this case.
Re: Any Side Effects? (Score:4, Interesting)
Which is why we've been looking at this type of technology or variants of it for decades now without actually testing it. We've had to map the entire genome and get a grip with certain questions like "how does protein folding work" and "how do we trace how particular base pairs manifest".
Cautious cautious cautious.
The end result however is pretty damn impressive. Yeah of course we still need to proceed with caution. But on a risk versus reward basis, saving a little girls life outweighs almost any risk imaginable.
Saving a child is the the kind of thing grown men throw themselves in front of automobiles or bullets for. A degree of scientific risk is pretty acceptable wthen the alternative is unthinkable.
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Explain how creating a T-cell
Explain how a cell, which isn't supposed to divide uncontrollably becomes cancerous? Shit goes wrong sometimes.
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Epstein Barr virus, or some other gamma herpes virus.
https://www.researchgate.net/p... [researchgate.net]
Usually brought on by emotional stress. At some point, society needs to say that not every person is cut out to be a parent. More regulation is needed. Anyone can have a kid, with no background checks or training.
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That's...that's not even barely true
You have no understanding of what T cells are or what role they play in our immune system if you believe 'they only fight a specific type of virus'
I'll take a dozen toes and ears (Score:2)
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over incurable cancer any day of the week. That said, I'm gonna say no, no side effects. What they did was train her immune system to go after cancerous cells. It's sort of like a vaccine.
Shhh. Don't use that word. The kid could have ended up like the one in New Zealand [cnn.com] whose parents are infected with stupidity.
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Shhh. Don't use that word. The kid could have ended up like the one in New Zealand [cnn.com] whose parents are infected with stupidity.
While I'm glad the baby is in the care of responsible people now, I hope he does not grow up to be as stupid as his parents. Darwin would not be pleased.
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Wait, they forced the daughter to be treated? What if the parents had a mind virus called jehovah witness?
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I mean... did you want a 3rd ear or 6th toe? It seems more probable than ever with all of this gene editing. Maybe a billionaire somewhere will get some work done.
NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:1)
NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+
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Yes, medical care is needlessly expensive in the US. But the NHS isn't free. They'll go broke if they hand out unlimited free cutting-edge DNA treatments.
Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
No, they will not: governments can print money, do you know?
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More to the point, they can print enough lab techs that the treatments won't be prohibitively expensive. It beats having all the surplus labor doing busywork, which is the way things are going, and isn't free either.
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More to the point, they can print enough lab techs that the treatments won't be prohibitively expensive. It beats having all the surplus labor doing busywork, which is the way things are going, and isn't free either.
If you have surplus health care staff doing busywork, do let the rest of the world know and we will take them. Health care systems are struggling in many places, having never recovered from COVID which caused massive attrition in the ranks. With hospitals still under strain we just can't train new people fast enough.
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Nurses aren't going to be in the lab creating tailored DNA treatments. This would be an entirely new facet of the industry that doesn't exist currently.
The lab techs of the future are working at Wal-Mart right now, waiting for someone to extend them an opportunity to train up.
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Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
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Even governments can't print money without consequences. Printing money increases the supply, reducing the value, causing inflation. This is precisely what happened to the US when it gave away tons of money during the height of the pandemic.
Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
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Do you have an actual example or citation?
Yes, it's true that economies are complex, and that there are other variables besides money supply that can lead to, or suppress, inflation. But all else being equal, increasing the money supply will cause inflation.
https://www.economicshelp.org/... [economicshelp.org]
Your turn, got a source?
Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
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That's not a citation. There's not enough data in your statement to assert that printing money does not lead to inflation. What other factors influenced the level of inflation in the years you specified?
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China? This is not exactly a free economy, and China's reported numbers are widely distrusted by economists. https://www.forbes.com/sites/w... [forbes.com]
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Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
Re: NHS is nice in the usa that will be $1M+ (Score:2)
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Depends. That kid is likely now going to grow up and pay a lifetime of tax that otherwise wouldn't have been collected. Seems like a sound investment to me.
That's exactly the kind of calculation that NICE does when deciding whether to adopt a particular treatment into the NHS. It leads to treatments being sold to the NHS at much lower cost than they otherwise would be. Seeing that most of them were developed using tax money to start with, I think that's fair enough.
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In pure raw financial terms, no. https://www.taxpayersalliance.... [taxpayersalliance.com].
According to the above, each British family will pay about 900K in taxes over their lifetimes. The average size of a British household is 2.4 individuals, so about $380K per individual. Further, those tax payments are largely already allocated to other government purposes besides that person's life. Only a fraction of that $380K is intended to finance healthcare. That million-plus exotic treatment will not make financial sense in terms of ta
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I wouldn't trust The 'Tax Payers' Alliance to be a reliable source of impartial statistics for a start.
You've missed the point about the dead paying no tax, so everything she generates in future can be offset against the cost of treating her without considering what she might have contributed in road tax, because it would have been zero if she hadn't been treated. You could even take into account that the .4 wouldn't have existed if she hadn't been treated if you like.
Yes, NICE will have to draw a line, but
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Incurable (Score:1)
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
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Well, OK, previously considered incurable.
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First of ten (Score:3)
Alyssa is just the first of 10 people to be given the drug as part of a clinical trial.
Assuming some of the other nine have similar results, A 10% success right is pretty good for an issue like this. Raising the rates higher will show its success.
Testing on less-terminal people will, of course, come next.
Cure for very rare diseases (Score:5, Insightful)
What I find most amazing about this story is just how rare her specific cancer is.
it is thought that up to a dozen a year could benefit from this therapy.
Normally if your illness is that rare, you are pretty much screwed unless something is discovered by accident while working on something else. But with techniques like this they can develop customized cures for people that otherwise would be out of luck.
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IIUC, this technique (in it's present form) only works on blood diseases. But I'm not real certain of that. (That may be from an article about a different technique.) I think you need to be able to kill off the cells that generate the problem, and then replace them with the improved version. (That's not quite what the summary implied, but much of the immune system is generated with the blood, so I think it was probably involved.)
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According to the story, they literally killed off all the T-cells in her body (using T-cells grown in a culture). Then they are going to regrow the T-cells with another marrow transplant.
This procedure is not for the weak-hearted.
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I believe you are correct. This is because the treatment indiscriminately destroys all cells of the targeted type. In the case of immune cells in blood, the immune system can be reconstituted after the treatment. That, of course, wouldn't work for lung tissue.
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I don't get it. Yes. Science WILL cure STDs and it has cured many already. Also, I don't see the "real" problem with cougaring... What's the problem between two consenting adults?
Let me guess (Score:2)