It just needs better instructions

摘要

Part of what makes cancers so insidious is that they're not invaders: They're our own cells turned against us. That means the body usually doesn't see them as a threat. But over the last few years, researchers have been programming peoples' immune systems to recognize and destroy cancer. So far, clinical trials of about a hundred terminal leukemia patients have shown some lasting effects. A single treatment has kept two of them cancer-free for three years and counting-after everything they tried had failed. Applying the technique to more cancers requires finding new targets to attack, says Michel Sadelain, an immunol-ogist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who pioneered the approach.