A French gene-therapy team that was hailed in 2000 for its breakthrough in curing children of a lethal immune deficiency reported a serious adverse event this week. One of 10 children they treated has developed a blood disorder resembling leukemia. Concerned that the therapy might have caused the problem, researchers Alain Fischer and Marina Cavazzana-Calvo of the Necker Hospital in Paris have halted the trial and urged others who use similar methods to hold off until the risks are assessed. At press time, French regulatory officials were preparing a public advisory.
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Eliot Marshall (2002) studied this question.