'Almost a miracle' - baby is cured of cancer with designer immune cells

Doctors described Layla Richards' response to the therapy as "almost a miracle" and "staggering" after her family was told there were no other options left. Experts said it "could represent a huge step forward" in treating leukaemia and other cancers.

Scientists used a new gene-editing technique to manipulate immune cells to fight the disease. The therapy has previously been tested only on mice in the laboratory.

Following the treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) in central London, Layla spent months in isolation but is now free of cancer and recovering well at home.

Her mother, Lisa Foley (27), a dental receptionist from north London, said: "We didn't want to accept palliative care and so we asked the doctors to try anything for our daughter, even if it hadn't been tried before."

Layla was diagnosed with cancer at just 14 weeks old after going off her milk and developing a fast heartbeat. A blood test confirmed Layla had an aggressive type of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common form of childhood leukaemia.

She had several rounds of chemotherapy to try to get rid of the cancer and was then given a bone marrow transplant. Seven weeks later, the family was told that Layla's cancer had returned.

Doctors told Layla's parents that there was nothing left that could cure Layla, and suggested palliative end-of-life care. But Ms Foley said she did not want to "give up on her daughter". The family was then told of a very recent and experimental treatment being developed by experts at the hospital.

The treatment involves using "molecular scissors" to edit genes and create designer immune cells programmed to hunt out and kill drug-resistant leukaemia.

Only one vial of the treatment was available for Layla. An emergency ethics committee meeting was called to seek immediate approval for the treatment.

Layla's father, Ashleigh Richards (30), said: "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 that we wanted to try the treatment. She was sick and in lots of pain so we had to do something.

"She will still have monthly bone marrow checks for now and might be on some medicines for the rest of her life."

Waseem Qasim, a professor of cell and gene therapy at the hospital, said: "This is a landmark in the use of new gene-engineering technology. If replicated, it could represent a huge step forward in treating leukaemia and other cancers."