Base editing: Revolutionary therapy clears girl's incurable cancer

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63859184

A brand new cancer treatment (and in the future, a lot of other uses). Used for the first time on an 11 yo girl with a rare form of leukemia that doesn't respond to any of the usual approaches. The T-cells attack the body's cells. This new technology allows the scientists to edit just one characteristic of the T-cell.

To do this, they recruited T-cells from a healthy donor. Made 3 changes on them. Removed the marker all T-cells have. Removed the receptors that would lead that T-cell to attack a foreign body. And added a receptor so it attacks T-cells with markers. Then a bone marrow transplant to give her the usual stuff back. (Her second; the first was the now almost routine leukemnia treatment that works well for most.)

Cool story, That young woman was completely go-for-it. Great attitude. A picture (I presume taken before her rare condition was known because she has a sleeve hiding the chemo stuff on her arm) of her wearing a big smile holding up a neat, multi-hair-tied 2' braid that now someone else could wear.

Also hits my heart because long ago, I was a star donor of platelets, absurdly healthy (bike racer), could do the manual (fist squeeze) donation fast!, blessed with high donation yields and came in every two weeks for my next two hour donation (and got to learn the status of my blood vitals ). I knew most of my platelets were going to research. Bone marrow transplants were new and I got to be a donor paired up with one of those recipients.

The year before COVID, I was a regular at a blues jam. A woman there loved to dance and told me several times she loved my playing. (I wasn't attracted to her. Now her boyfriend rode a Harley and we hit if off from day one. Bikes!) Well, one evening, it was made know that she had cancer. Stage 3 breast. I got to watch her though radiation, chemo, the surgery. She took it on with attitude. Made me her biggest fan. Loved to play for her. I stepped off stage to give her a tight hug her last evening there before the surgery, knowing those breasts, such a part of her, would be gone in 3 days. No, no lust there, just deep sadness for her. Damn COVID. Never had her contact info. And my life's felt empty without that routine of the jam. (Going was routine. Who I got to play with and what happened on stage? Well, it's a jam. And would I see her and how would she be feeling?)