7blood-cancer-therapy-is-last-chance-for-some

An experimental therapy uses a person's weak immune system to fight deadly blood cancers.

一种实验性的治疗方法使用一个人虚弱的免疫系统来对抗致命的血癌。

Stanley Riddell is a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the U.S. state of Washington. He and his colleagues added molecules to immune cells that attack cancer cells. They put the modified cells back in the patient, where they multiply and fight cancer.

斯坦利·里德尔是美国华盛顿州弗雷德·哈钦森癌症研究中心的研究员。他和他的同事在攻击癌细胞的免疫细胞中添加了分子。他们把经过修饰的细胞放回病人体内，在那里它们繁殖和抗癌。

"So, that's the one interesting thing about this. It doesn't require repeated treatments or repetitive cycles of chemotherapy," said Riddell.

“所以，这是一件有趣的事情。它不需要重复治疗或反复化疗周期，”里德尔说。

"That's what I think in the future may be most important for patients – that it's a single treatment instead of many months of treatment."

“我认为这对患者来说可能是未来最重要的——这是一种单一的治疗，而不是数月的治疗。”

It has shown great promise in small trials with patients. In one study of 35 patients with a type of leukemia, 94 percent experienced a complete remission. Fifty percent to 80 percent of patients with other blood cancers also saw a reduction in symptoms.

它在小规模的病人试验中显示了巨大的前景。在一项对35名白血病患者的研究中，94%的患者完全缓解。50%到80%的其他血癌患者的症状也有所减轻。

Riddell said, "This is encouraging because these are all patients who have failed all conventional therapies, including many kinds of bone marrow and stem cell transplants."

里德尔说：“这是令人鼓舞的，因为这些病人都没有通过所有传统疗法，包括许多骨髓和干细胞移植。”

Getting these very high rates of remission is "obviously very exciting for us," he added. These patients do not have any other treatment options that are likely to work.

他补充说，获得这些非常高的缓解率“显然对我们非常令人兴奋”。这些患者没有任何其他可能有效的治疗选择。

Immune system cells usually fight invading viruses and bacteria. They can also combat cancer. But they are soon overwhelmed by the disease.

免疫系统细胞通常对抗入侵的病毒和细菌。他们还可以对抗癌症。但他们很快就被疾病所淹没。

The work by Hutchinson researchers increases this natural cancer-fighting ability.

哈钦森研究人员的研究提高了这种天然抗癌能力。

Using the immune system has also shown promise against skin cancer and some lung cancers. But for other cancers, immunotherapy is considered a last resort.

使用免疫系统也显示出了对抗皮肤癌和一些肺癌的前景。但是对于其他癌症，免疫疗法被认为是最后的手段。

Riddell said he thinks that may change. In some cases, it may be better than chemotherapy or even replace it, he said.

里德尔说他认为这可能会改变。他说，在某些情况下，它可能比化疗更好，甚至可以替代化疗。

I'm Mary Gotschall.