First Washington patient to try new T-cell therapy is cancer free

SEATTLE -- Seattle Children's Hospital made a landmark announcement Wednesday -- the first leukemia patient in the state to try a new cancer therapy is disease free.

The treatment, called cellular immunotherapy, is designed for the toughest cases of leukemia. At 23 years old, Lynsie Conradi is fighting leukemia for the third time. Cancer and chemotherapy have taken their toll.

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Researchers asked her to try a new therapy. They took Lynsie's blood and focused on the cells that fight infection: the T-cells.

In the lab, they added a man-made gene, then returned those souped-up T-cells to Lynsie's body. "That new gene enables the T cells to recognize the cancer as foreign and bad and then triggers the T-cell to kill the leukemia cell," said Dr. Rebecca Gardner, the lead researcher on the Seattle Children's study.


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