Ten patients diagnosed with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma took part in the study these patients also tested positive for the Epstein Barr virus, a member of the herpes family responsible for the "kissing disease" (mononucleosis) and commonly associated with this cancer's tumors.
Patients were given intravenous doses of specialized T cells that specifically targeted antigens produced by the Epstein Barr virus. Developed by researchers from the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital in Houston, and Texas Children's Hospital, these T cells were created using the patient's own blood to recognize the antigens and destroy the cancerous cells harboring the virus. The treatment was well tolerated in all but one patient, who had pre-existing facial swelling that increased after the infusion.
"Radiation and chemotherapy, the traditional treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, frequently fail and can cause severe long-term side effects," said senior study author Helen Heslop, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. "There is a compelling need for therapies that can improve disease-free survival without severe toxicity. This study demonstrates that virus-specific T cells show remarkable activity in some patients with this cancer and this may lead to new treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma."
A majority of the patients (six) remain completely disease-free one to two years after the treatment. Two patients had no response to the treatment. One p
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Contact: Laura Stark
lstark@hematology.org
American Society of Hematology
16-Feb-2005