CRISPR Approach To Fighting Cancer Called ‘Promising’ In 1st Safety Test
The powerful gene-editing technique known as CRISPR has raised a lot of hope in recent years for its potential to offer new ways to treat many diseases, including cancer. But until now, scientists have released very little information about results of tests in patients.
On Wednesday, researchers revealed data from the first study involving U.S. cancer patients who received cells genetically modified with CRISPR.
The highly anticipated results, while quite preliminary, seem to be encouraging, scientists say.
“This is a very important first step,” says Dr. Edward Stadtmauer, a professor in oncology at the University of Pennsylvania and the study’s principal investigator. “We hope this is the beginning of the next generation of engineering cells to help many different diseases and many different tumors.”
