(New York Magazine) – His brain tumor was a hopeless case. Then an experimental medicine made it melt away.

The day before, Choi and Maus had treated their first patient in a clinical trial for an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma, infusing genetically modified white blood cells directly into the fluid surrounding the brain. They had been up all night worrying, especially after the patient, a 74-year-old man, developed a fever. Choi had ordered an MRI. “We were not looking for the results,” he said. “We were trying to make sure that our patient was okay.”

When Maus got to Choi’s office, images from the MRI were loading on his screen. They stared in wonder: The patient’s tumor, which a few days before had shown up on the scan as a bright blob the size of a strawberry, had almost entirely disappeared. No one had heard of that kind of regression in glioblastoma, especially not overnight. (Read More)