NPR

FDA Approves First Gene Therapy Treatment For Cancer

The process modifies patients' immune cells to attack their own cancer cells. It was approved to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and young adults — the most common childhood cancer.
Scientists have created a treatment in which genetically modified T cells, shown in blue, can attack cancer cells, shown in red.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday announced what the agency calls a "historic action" — the first approval of a gene therapy in the United States.

The FDA Kymriah, which scientists refer to as a "living drug" because it involves using genetically modified immune cells from patients to attack their

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