Experimental approach to treating pancreatic cancer heralded as a success
In this Story:
- When Kathy Wilkes asked her hometown oncologist in Ormond Beach, Florida, about her course of action, his only answer was chemotherapy. She knew there must be another option for treatment.
- Providence Cancer Institute’s experimental approach involved taking a sample of Wilkes’ T cells, a type of immune cell that attacks invaders in the body. Scientists then genetically modified these cells, reprogramming them to recognize and attack tumor cells. The T cells were then multiplied billions of times in a lab, before being delivered back in Wilkes' body via a single intravenous infusion.
“I thought, 'That is the trial I want.' I knew that that was the trial that was going to save me, save my life. I just had that feeling,”—Kathy Wilkes, Providence patient
Watch and read the full story, originally published by NBC News, June 2022