New Therapy Kills Human Leukemia Cells in Mice

A new therapy is under development for the treatment of Leukemia involving the use of natural killer (NK) immune system cells from umbilical cord blood and has been shown effective in destroying human leukemia cells in mice, showing a 60 to 80 percent reduction in acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia cells in mice with aggressive human leukemia. NK cells have enhanced sensitivity to stimulation, decrease graft-versus-host disease, and can be procured from cord banks. The approach they've taken isn't a new one, but the abilities of obtaining the cells has changed promising a much greater likelyhood for future developments. Previous efforts expanded NK cells from the blood in a single cord, but this provided ineffective NK cells. New techniques increase the NK cells by 30-fold and retain the cells’ abilities. The therapy can also be used in patients without the need for prior chemotherapy and in those who may not be eligible for other treatments.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/articles/2008/05/16/new-therapy-kills-human-leukemia-cells-in-mice.html