by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Parenting

A revolutionary new treatment for childhood leukemia is on the cusp of gaining federal approval, and could be the start of big changes in treatments for other cancers too.
This week, an expert panel advised the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a treatment called CTL019. The treatment would be used on children and young adults who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) ? the most common form of childhood cancer - and who haven?t responded to standard treatment.

It?s not just another therapy. This involves genetically engineering the patients? own cells to fight back against cancer. Cells are removed from the body, altered in a lab, and then put back inside the patient where they multiply by themselves. It sounds like science fiction, but experts say this type of gene therapy could be the future of cancer treatment. Similar therapies for other cancers are already in the pipeline.
The panel based its recommendation for approval on a study of 63 patients who received the treatment between 2015 and 2016. More than 80 percent of the patients went into remission following the therapy, and in most cases the cancer vanished. Still, many of the patients suffered serious side effects, and questions remain about whether there might be long-term consequences.
It won?t be a cheap therapy, either. Cost estimates are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The FDA is expected to approve CTL019 within the next few months.

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