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=Cancer Fighting Cells= Cancer Fighting Cells (CFCs) is a term used to describe cells that have the specific function to help fight cancerous tumors in the body. Cancer is a powerful disease so the body’s cancer fighting cells need to be engineered to produce more cells and to be stronger so they can defeat the tumors. T-cells and certain stem cells have the specific function to fight cancerous tumors so they are modified in a way that will enhance their specific function. Thus, the term cancer fighting cells was created to describe these engineered cells.

Cancer fighting cells falls into the category, immunotherapy, which is when people’s immune systems are trained to fight their own cancers. In addition to chemotherapy and surgery, immunotherapy is becoming more involved in the fight against cancer. It hasn’t been fully integrated and accepted as a treatment yet because the idea is so new. Currently, there are clinical trials that are happening to discover more about the effects and outcomes of this type of treatment.

Stem Cells
Cells that are able to grow into different kinds of cells in the human body and can multiply quickly, are known as stem cells. Several types of stem cells are able to seek out cancer cells which makes them a potential agent to help kill the cancer cells, but it also makes them a target of cancer cells as well. Tumors release proteins that attract stem cells making the stem cells a source that can kill the cancerous tumor.

In order for a stem cell to help kill a tumor, they need to be genetically modified. The stem cells are usually modified with a cancer killing virus or protein. Once they are genetically modified they become killer cells. They can then be inserted into the body and once the proteins of the tumor attract the modified stem cells, the stem cells will latch onto that protein. Once they latch on to the protein, they release a killing agent that is used specifically to kill cancerous tumors. Because stem cells can multiply quickly, the modified stem cells can fight the tumors more rapidly.

A Trial
The City of Hope Medical Center started a new trial, involving the genetically modified stem cells, on a patient named Doug Heil. Heil was diagnosed with the fastest growing type of brain cancer called glioblastoma. He had previously tried surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to try and cure the cancer but none of those treatments worked. Because he didn’t have any other options, Heil decided to become one of the first patients to test out genetically modified stem cells with City of Hope. Millions of modified stem cells were inserted into Heil’s brain and every two weeks he would receive more dosages of the stem cells. They were specifically engineered to destroy tumors. In Heil’s case, a prodrug, which is an inactive chemical that bodies can metabolize to produce a drug, was engineered with the stem cells. Once inserted into his brain these stem cells became a poison to the cancer. Although cancer defeated Heil, this trial provided hope for future treatments using stem cells. The trial confirmed that this prodrug can, in fact, become an active agent to help destroy tumors. The trial also tested the safety of using genetically modified stem cells and it did confirm safety.

T-cells
White blood cells that specialize in destroying tumor cells or cells that have been invaded by viruses are known as T-cells. T-cells roam around in the blood and look for tumor cells or cells with viruses and destroy them. There are about five million T-cells in one teaspoon of blood.

Genetically Modified T-cells
T-cells are designed to destroy tumors, however, they don’t always succeed. Like stem cells, T-cells can be more efficient when genetically modified. They become more potent when modified and can destroy more tumor cells. They can also be modified in a way where they can target one specific type of cancerous tumor or virus. T-cells kill tumors in a way like stem cells kill tumors. They latch onto the cancer cell and release a toxic protein that will slowly start to kill the cell. T-cells will then move on to find other targets and the process will repeat over again.

Safety Concerns & Side Effects
One of the safety concerns of using stem cells to help cure cancer is the fact that they multiply rapidly. It is possible that the stem cells can multiply too quickly and they can get out of control. If this happens, they could possibly form tumors of their own.

A possible side effect of using one’s T-cells is cytokine-release syndrome. Cytokine-release syndrome is when there is a rapid and massive release of cytokines (chemical messengers that help T-cells perform their functions) in the bloodstream. This causes high fevers and a drop in blood pressure. Steroids can be used to help this side effect.