Close Menu
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

Vaccine Panel Stacked by RFK Jr. Recommends Delaying MMRV Immunization

19 September 2025

Move Aside, Chatbots: AI Humanoids Are Here

19 September 2025

Brendan Carr Isn’t Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him

19 September 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Just In
  • Vaccine Panel Stacked by RFK Jr. Recommends Delaying MMRV Immunization
  • Move Aside, Chatbots: AI Humanoids Are Here
  • Brendan Carr Isn’t Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him
  • You Can Save $200 on Samsung’s Elite Gaming Monitor Today
  • No One Knows What ‘Terminally Online’ Means Anymore
  • AI Psychosis Is Rarely Psychosis at All
  • Political Influencers Are Ramping Up Security—and Posting Through It
  • All 40 Games Shown During The September Six One Indie Showcase
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release
Subscribe
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
Home » A Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment May Cause Cancer. The FDA Is Investigating
News

A Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment May Cause Cancer. The FDA Is Investigating

News RoomBy News Room2 December 20233 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

These therapies are made by adding genetic material to patients’ T cells in the lab, making them produce proteins on their surface called chimeric antigen receptors, or CARs. These CARS detect and bind to specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells, turning patients’ own cells into cancer assassins.

Scientists use harmless viruses to ferry and insert the new genetic material because of their natural ability to get inside cells. But the potential for these viruses to accidentally trigger another cancer has long been considered a theoretical risk. In its notice, the FDA said the use of these viruses may have played a role in patients developing secondary cancers.

The downside of using viruses is that they tend to drop off their genetic cargo at a random place in a person’s genome. Depending on where this new genetic material integrates, it could potentially activate a nearby cancer gene. “The concern would be that somehow the new genetic material that you put into patients’ T cells can induce cancer in that cell, perhaps by where it gets inserted in the DNA,” Porter says.

Because of this risk, the FDA currently requires that patients who receive CAR-T cell therapies be monitored for 15 years after treatment. In its notice on Tuesday, the agency suggested that “patients and clinical trial participants receiving treatment with these products should be monitored life-long for new malignancies.”

Maksim Mamonkin, an associate professor of pathology and immunology at Baylor College of Medicine who is involved in several clinical trials of CAR-T cell therapies, says he is not aware of cases in which engineered T cells became cancerous in the dozens of patients treated there. But he says no therapy is risk-free. “It doesn’t mean it isn’t possible,” he says. “It cannot be ruled out that, just by chance, the CAR gene ends up in the wrong location in the genome.”

Another explanation is that previous cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation, played a role in the new T cell cancers patients developed. These treatments kill cancer cells, but they also damage DNA in healthy cells. In doing so, they can cause changes in cells that give rise to cancer later on.

“Very often, cancer is more than just one mutation, more than one insult,” Porter says. “So you may damage the DNA with prior chemotherapy or radiation, making that cell more prone. Should it have another event, then it’s well on the way already to becoming a cancer cell.”

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleHuawei MatePad Pro 11 2024 Price, Specifications, Features, Comparison
Next Article 5 great Christmas TV shows to watch in December

Related Articles

News

Vaccine Panel Stacked by RFK Jr. Recommends Delaying MMRV Immunization

19 September 2025
News

Move Aside, Chatbots: AI Humanoids Are Here

19 September 2025
News

Brendan Carr Isn’t Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him

19 September 2025
News

You Can Save $200 on Samsung’s Elite Gaming Monitor Today

18 September 2025
News

No One Knows What ‘Terminally Online’ Means Anymore

18 September 2025
News

AI Psychosis Is Rarely Psychosis at All

18 September 2025
Demo
Top Articles

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024105 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views

5 laptops to buy instead of the M4 MacBook Pro

17 November 202492 Views

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Latest News
News

AI Psychosis Is Rarely Psychosis at All

News Room18 September 2025
News

Political Influencers Are Ramping Up Security—and Posting Through It

News Room18 September 2025
Gaming

All 40 Games Shown During The September Six One Indie Showcase

News Room18 September 2025
Most Popular

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

13 January 2025129 Views

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024105 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views
Our Picks

You Can Save $200 on Samsung’s Elite Gaming Monitor Today

18 September 2025

No One Knows What ‘Terminally Online’ Means Anymore

18 September 2025

AI Psychosis Is Rarely Psychosis at All

18 September 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Best in Technology. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.