Doctors In China Lead Race To Treat Cancer By Editing Genes
Shaorong Deng is sitting up in bed at the Hangzhou Cancer Hospital waiting for his doctor. Thin and frail, the 53-year-old construction worker's coat drapes around his shoulders to protect against the chilly air.
Deng has advanced cancer of the esophagus, a common form of cancer in China. He went through radiation and chemotherapy. But the cancer kept spreading.
So he's back at the hospital to get an experimental treatment. It involves using cells from his own immune system, known as T cells, after they have been taken out of his body and genetically altered in a lab by the gene-editing tool called CRISPR.
"I consider myself very lucky," Deng says through an interpreter as a nurse finishes taking his blood pressure.
Just then, the door swings open and the nurse rushes back in. She's cradling a clear plastic pouch filled with a
