By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental therapy that genetically tweaks the immune system may effectively treat a type of adult leukemia that often has a grim prognosis.

Researchers found that of 16 patients with advanced B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 88 percent went into remission after being treated with genetically altered versions of their own immune system cells.

The findings, reported Feb. 19 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, extend research published last spring on the first five patients to receive the treatment.

"First and foremost, we've shown that this isn't a fluke. This is a reliable result," said study senior author Dr. Renier Brentjens, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

There is still plenty of work to be done, he and other experts cautioned. The treatment, known as T-cell therapy, is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is only available in a research setting.

"We're still very much in the early stages of development," Brentjens said. But, he added, "this is potentially the first promising new therapy [for advanced B-cell ALL] in a long time."

Another expert agreed.

"The response rates are incredibly high," said Dr. David Porter, director of blood and marrow transplantation at the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center.

Porter, who was not involved in the study, has also been researching the T-cell therapy for advanced ALL, as well as another adult leukemia called chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The results for the ALL patients have not been published in a journal yet, but Porter said they've shown similar response rates.

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Experimental Therapy Shows Promise Against Type of Adult Leukemia