Engineered immune cells shrank a brain tumor in one day

Physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital tested a new kind of engineered T cell, delivered directly into the fluid around the brain and spinal cord instead of through the bloodstream, in three patients with recurrent disease.

The T cells were built to find the tumor protein EGFR and to secrete an extra antibody fragment that recruited other immune cells into the attack. One patient's tumor shrank by about 18.5 percent within a day of a single infusion, and by 60.7 percent within ten weeks. Another patient's scan four days later showed near complete tumor regression.

All three patients in the phase 1 trial had rapid, visible tumor shrinkage, with no severe side effects reported. In two of the three the response faded over the following months, and glioblastoma's ability to evolve around a single target remains the central problem. The trial has since expanded to enroll more patients and test repeat dosing.

Three patients, days not months.