Gene Therapy Using T-Cells Helps Child Beat Leukemia - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Gene Therapy Using T-Cells Helps Child Beat Leukemia

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PHILADELPHIA -

Ground-breaking therapy is helping kids beat cancer. Doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are using gene therapy to help children battle leukemia.

Emily Whitehead faced a death sentence when she was diagnosed with the disease. However, just three weeks after her infusion last April, the 7-year-old was cancer free.

Doctors use T-cells from a patient's immune system to battle the cancer. They say this procedure is promising, but there are many others out there still battling the disease.

"There are still many too many patients, children and adults alike, that have leukemia that is incurable," said Dr. David Porter, of the Perelman Center For Advanced Medicine. "Our effective therapies stop working after a time. Many of these patients can be cured through very risky procedures like bone marrow transplant,"

Emily was one of 10 patients who underwent t-cell treatment. Two did not get better.

(Video Courtesy: Fox News Channel)

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