Borrowing a New Immune System from your Family

One of the problems with a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is that what you want is the new immune soldiers to march in, destroy ALL the bad guys and all their children and their children's children, then go home. It also helps if they bulldoze some of their favorite hiding places. All this and please no civilian casualties.

The problem is that if you successfully engraft (sadly not my story), then the soldiers (the new 100%  donor T cells and their allies)  are with you forever and these are trained fighters, and you, Mr. or Ms. Recipient, look like a prime target to rape and pillage. So while they might wipe out any strangling insurgents, they may also cause your life to be miserable with graft versus host disease (GVHD).

Comes along a fine study by Veronika Bachanova, MD, PhD  that uses natural killer cells harvested from a parent or child or sibling to do the search and destroy work. Since they are only a halploid (1/2) match your body rejects them after several weeks. 

In that time, they have shrunk your nodes and cleaned out your blood, marrow and spleen (if you still have one, that is) of any leukemia.

Great idea.  An elite force that attacks, then disappears into the night. Pretty non-toxic.

Especially makes sense if you are heading to a transplant, but can't shrink down some pesky nodes with FRC or OFAR or whatever.

Or if you can't find a donor that is a close enough match.

Also may be a real option for cleaning up residual disease. Like in my  gut nodes. Could it do a thorough enough job, like its big diploid (full match) sister, a HSCT, to be curative?  Way to early to tell.

Truth is that the only way be are ever going to cure this disease is through clinical trial, and if you think as I do that an immunological approach is a good place to bet your  money or your life, take a look-see at:  http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00625729

Natural Killer Cells With Rituximab In Patients With CD20 Positive Relapsed Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
(MT2007-12)

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00625729

Clinical Trials Office – Masonic Cancer Center at University of Minnesota
Phone: 612-624-2620, 612-273-2800, or toll free 888-601-0787

Principal Investigator: Dr. Veronika Bachanova
Phone: 612-624-0123

What I have given you is a gross oversimplification.

Chaya Venkat has a more detailed and referenced review of the study, and I thank her  (again) for her tireless work, sponsorship, and the great material on her web site:  http://clltopics.org/SponsoredProjects/NKCellTherapy.htm

The PI is a wonderful and kind person. Contact her if you are seriously considering the trial, or email me at BkoffmanMD@gmail.com and we can chat.

For myself,  while I am not flying off to Minnesota next week, I am definitely keep this study on my shelf in easy reach should  the need arise.