Gene-edited stem cell transplant shows promise for aggressive blood cancers

For highly aggressive types of blood cancer, stem cell transplantation is often the only potentially curative therapy, yet even after a transplant, these cancers often return. Now a clinical trial, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, shows that a stem cell transplant in which the donor cells have been genetically engineered to remove a particular protein helps prevent toxic side effects and potentially improves the effectiveness of therapies given after a transplant to help prevent cancer recurrence.