A Pennsylvania team has received international attention for its efforts in turning patients' own blood cells into assassins that hunt and destroy cancer cells. Its work with three patients with advanced lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, was published Wednesday by two journals, including the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
Winnipeg cancer researchers have had a long-standing interest in lymphocytic leukemia, with several experts working in the city. Dhaliwal described the research as "an early Phase 1 study" designed to determine if the technique used was safe. Initial reports stated the technique also destroys other infection-fighting blood cells in the body.