New cancer therapy gains wide attention

(ANSA) - London, February 16 - A study involving Italian research into engineering immune cells to target blood cancer is gaining widespread attention for potentially being a turning point in cancer therapy.
    The study, which was presented in Washington during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), focuses on a method which reprograms the body's T-cells to fight cancer.
    It has been widely picked up in the British media, with The Times highlighting that even some veteran cancer researchers view the findings as "revolutionary".
    The Times underlines the crucial role played by an Italian team in Milan's San Raffaele hospital, quoting hematology expert Chiara Bonini.
    British papers reported that in one trial, about 94% of participants with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, who would usually only have months to live, saw their symptoms clear up.
    The therapy involves taking white blood cells from patients and genetically modifying them to act as killer-cancer cells.