Nick went through many kinds of treatment: chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant, but the cancer kept coming back. Nothing was working. But then his parents found out about a clinical trial for an experimental gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

It’s called “personalized cell therapy.” Doctors reprogram the patient’s T-cells to multiply and then attack and destroy cancer cells. The T-cells attack the cancer cells like the body fights a cold.

 

Trials started in 2010 and the results have been very positive. Most of the children in the trials have gone into complete remission. And one third of adults have gone into remission, as well.

 

There are plans to expand the trials to other hospitals. If all goes well the treatment could become available to the public in three to five years.