A new gene therapy successfully used a modified and disabled form of HIV to treat three people with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine and reported by The New York Times. The experimental treatment used HIV-1 to transport cancer-fighting genes found in specific human, animal and virus DNA into CD4 cells, which fight and kill some viruses. Carl June, MD, led the research and directs translational medicine in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The cancer was completely eliminated from the bloodstream and bone marrow of two people. The cancer in the third person remained but went into remission.

To read the Times article, click here.