September 15, 2011

For many cancer patients, leukemia is fatal. That may not be the case much longer. An article in the New York Times announced that a research group at the University of Pennsylvania might have discovered a method of eliminating the cancer.

The article stated that a man, known in the study as patient 1, was near death when he signed up for the clinical trial in which doctors extracted all of the T-cells in his blood, changed them genetically to fight his cancer, and then infused them back into his blood. A few days after the treatment, that battle for his body began and his new T-cells began an assault on his cancer. He suffered from severe fevers and dangerously low blood pressure for several days, but when his flu like symptoms subsided, he was in complete remission. Of the other two patients that underwent the treatment, one other is in remission and one other saw a significant decrease in cancerous cells.

The research is in early stages and doctors warn there could be dangerous side effects, as several patients have died from similar treatments.

Despite this fact, it is a giant step forward in the battle against cancer and the Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Attorneys with Lundy Law are proud that such a break through in the medical field could occur in their area.