This story was originally published on July 20, 2018.

(CNN Business) A clinical trial run by UCLA is testing a potentially pioneering form of immunotherapy that could turn a patient's own body into a powerful weapon against cancer.

Researchers at the university's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center are reinforcing the immune system's foundation by genetically modifying bone marrow stem cells, the cellular factories that power immune responses. By arming those cells with receptors that recognize cancer, researchers hope a patient's body will cure itself from the inside out.

Dr. Antoni Ribas, who is leading the trial, started working on cancer immunotherapy -- treatments that alter a patient's immune response to fend off cancer -- more than 20 years ago. He played a key role in the clinical development of Keytruda, Merck's popular immunotherapy drug used to treat several types of cancer including some types of melanoma (a type of skin cancer), Hodgkin's disease, some head and neck cancers, some non-small cell lung cancers, and some colorectal cancers. Now he's turning his attention to another therapy he finds especially exciting.

The immune system defends the body against sickness. T-cells play an integral role. They're a type of white blood cell that seeks out and destroys diseased cells. The trouble is, T-cells don't recognize cancerous cells as an adversary, leaving the body vulnerable.

Researchers already know how to get around that by extracting T-cells and adding the genetic code for receptors that detect cancer. The problem? Eventually those super-powered T-cells stop working. "We realized the immune system cells that we give back have a limited life span," Ribas said.

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