MSKCC’s Renier Brentjens and Michel Sadelain have reported significant new findings using gene therapy to manipulate the immune system is emerging as a promising new strategy in the fight against cancer. Five patients with a type of leukemia achieved complete remissions after the treatment, in which cells from their own immune systems were genetically altered to specifically attack the disease. These findings, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, received widespread media attention.