New technology reprograms immune cells inside the body to treat cancer

Researchers have developed a new immunotherapy approach that reprograms immune cells directly inside the patient's body to enable them to attack cancer cells, without the need to extract and modify them in the lab, a step that could reduce treatment costs and production time.

Researchers have developed a new immunotherapy approach that reprograms immune cells directly inside the patient's body, enabling them to recognize and attack cancer cells without the need to extract and genetically modify them in the lab. The technique relies on delivering genetic instructions to specific immune cells within the immune system, allowing them to acquire new therapeutic capabilities inside the body itself. This approach differs from current cellular immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapy, which requires drawing immune cells from the patient's blood, engineering them in the lab, and then reinfusing them. The article notes that producing modified cells for each patient requires specialized equipment, complex procedures, and high costs, limiting widespread availability. The study was published in the scientific journal Nature, and researchers believe this step could open the door for future use in treating cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases.