title: Potential of autologous NK cell therapy to eradicate leukemia: "Education is [not] the best provision for old age" -Aristotle.
abstract: B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BP-ALL) patients are immunocompromised. We recently reported that functional natural killer (NK) cells can be grown from patient bone marrow and blood samples at diagnosis. Surprisingly, such NK cells exhibit cytotoxicity against autologous BP-ALL cells. Here, we outline unanswered questions, challenges and possible applications associated with these findings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation; Department of Pediatrics; The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles ; CA USA.
authors.forename: Hisham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdel-Azim
authors.affiliation: Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis ; CA USA ; Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation; Department of Pediatrics; The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles ; CA USA ; Leukemia and Lymphoma Program; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center; University of Southern California ; CA USA.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Heisterkamp
keywords: ADCC; BP-ALL; adoptive cell therapy; artificial antigen presenting; autologous; expanded NK; pre-B ALL