Gene therapy trials for sickle cell disease halted after two patients develop cancer

Gene therapy trials for sickle cell disease halted after two patients develop cancer

3 years ago
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http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/gene-therapy-trials-sickle-cell-disease-halted-after-two-patients-develop-cancer

There are new cancer concerns swirling around a gene therapy approach designed to prevent the sickling of blood cells (above).

A company has stopped its clinical studies of a promising gene therapy for the blood disorder sickle cell disease after two people who participated developed leukemia-like cancer. Bluebird bio is now investigating whether a virus it uses to deliver a therapeutic gene caused the cancers, reviving old concerns about the risks of this approach.