U.S. doctors try CRISPR gene editing for cancer for the first time

Doctors reported yesterday that the first attempt at using the gene editing tool CRISPR against cancer was safe in the three patients who were tested with the procedure. As part of the trial, the physicians used CRISPR to genetically alter immune cells of the three patients to recognize and fight back against cancer. Specifically, the doctors deleted three genes that were preventing the patients’ T cells from attacking tumors, and added in a fourth feature to enhance the cells’ ability to do so. Of the three patients, one person’s cancer continued to worsen, another person’s is stable, and the third was treated too recently to be able to determine their condition. Still, the study thus far only demonstrates in this small group that this treatment could be tolerated — and doesn’t necessarily demonstrate its efficacy.