Toddler's aggressive cancer unbelievably cured with experimental treatment never-before-used on humans

Layla Richards survived with the help of genetically engineered immune cells

The first person in the world to be treated with a cure for cancer was a British baby named Layla Richards. Richards had an aggressive case of leukemia and no other treatments worked so the family turned to the experimental genetically engineered immune cells that had previously only been experimented on mice.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Layla lives in north London with her parents Ashleigh Richards and Lisa Foley. She was born healthy June of last year but at three-months-old, she stopped drinking milk, her heart rate spiked and she cried often. Doctors initially suspected a stomach bug but a blood test revealed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a cancer in white blood cells known to be difficult to treat in babies.

After chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant failed to eradicate the cancer, doctors told Layla's parents to prepare for the worst. That's when 27-year-old Foley decided, "We didn't want to accept palliative care and so we asked doctors to try anything for our daughter, even if it hadn't been tried before."
Once doctors at GOSH received permission to use a cell treatment they were developing with French biotech company Cellectis, fifty-million cells genetically engineered to hunt down and kill leukemia were injected into Layla. They did their job and the toddler is now cancer-free.
The treatment was so new there was only a single vial of UCART19 available, which Layla received in a ten-minute infusion. 
Thirty-year-old Richards said, "Layla didn't notice anything was going on and was bouncing in her cot all the way through. We thought that the little bit of liquid in the syringe was nothing and asked 'what is that going to do when bags and bags of chemo haven't worked?'
"The nurse said it was about quality and not quantity though. It was scary to think that the treatment had never been used in a human before but, even with the risks, there was no doubt we wanted to try the treatment. She was sick and in lots of pain, so we had to do something. Doctors explained there was no guarantee it would work but we prayed it would."
It took weeks for Layla to exhibit signs of recovery and she received a bone marrow transplant to make certain the disease was gone. Today she is home with her parents and sister Reya, where she laughs, walks, plays and remains cancer-free.
The lead doctor on Layla's case, Professor Paul Veys, said, "As this was the first time the treatment had been used, we didn't know if or when it would work, so we were over the moon when it did. Her leukaemia was so aggressive that such a response is almost a miracle."
Layla receives regular check-ups to ensure the cancer hasn't returned and though it will take another year for doctors to be satisfied she has been cured, they have high expectations.
Full details of Layla's treatment will be presented to medics and scientists at the American Society of Hematology's annual conference in Florida next month.
Layla's mother said, "I consider ourselves lucky that we were in the right place at the right time to get a vial of these cells. We always said that we had to try new things as we didn't want to be saying 'what if?' Hopefully Layla will stay well and lots more children can be helped with this new treatment."
The chairman of Cellectis, Dr. Andre Choulika, said Layla's experience could be the beginning of a revolution in cancer treatment. Dr. Matt Kaiser of leukemia charity Bloodwise reiterated Choulika's statement, saying there is a "desperate need" for children with incurable leukemia. He also cautioned that more research for UCART19 is necessary and that "the concept of training immune cells to specifically recognize and hunt out leukemia cells is very exciting and in theory could provide a lifetime cure for these children."
Dr. Philippa Brice, from the genetics think-tank PHG Foundation, said though the treatment is not guaranteed to work with everyone, it was "really ingenious." She continued, saying, "Whilst it is still very early days, this pioneering treatment gives us a glimpse of one of the potential future applications of genetic medicine to create novel, personalized treatments for serious disease." Professor Waseem Qasim, one of Richards' doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), said, "We have only used this treatment on one very strong little girl and we have to be cautious about claiming this will be suitable for all children. But this is a landmark in the use of new gene engineering technology and the effects on this child have been staggering. If replicated, it could represent a huge step forward in treating leukaemia and other cancers."
Qasim continued, saying the treatment has the potential to expand to treat adults with cancer and could lead to new therapies for other genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis.

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