New genetic experiment was found to shrink woman's pancreatic cancer

strengthen T cells to fight some types of leukemia and lymphoma. They add an artificial receptor to patients’ T cells so the immune fighters can recognize a marker on the outside of blood cancer cells, and attack.But that CAR-T therapy doesn’t work against more common solid tumors, which don’t carry that same danger marker.The new twist: At Oregon’s Providence Cancer Institute, researcher Eric Tran genetically engineered Wilkes’ T cells so they could spot a mutant protein that's hidden inside her tumor cells -- and only there, not in healthy cells.How?

Certain molecules sit on the surface of cells and give the immune system a sneak peek of what proteins are inside. If a complex receptor on the T cell recognizes both the person's genetically distinct "HLA" molecule and that one of the protein snippets embedded in it is the targeted mutant, that immune fighter can latch on.It’s an approach known as T cell receptor, or TCR, therapy.

Tran stressed that the research remains highly experimental but said Wilkes’ remarkable response "provides me with optimism that we’re on the right track."Dr.

Eric Rubin, the New England Journal's top editor, said the study raises the possibility of eventually being able to target multiple cancer-causing mutations."We're talking about the chance to distinguish tumor cells from non-tumor cells in a way that we never could before," he said.Wilkes underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery for her pancreatic cancer.