StemCell Therapy

Transplanting gene-modified stem cells into brain cancer patients can prevent development of chemotherapys toxic side effects in them.

Researchers at the US Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre have for the first time transplanted stem cells into patients with brain cancer to protect them against the toxic side effects of a chemotherapy drug called temozolomide.

The study included three patients with a form of brain cancer called glioblastoma, two of whom survived longer than doctors expected. No disease progression has been seen in the third patient after three years of treatment, scientists reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

We found that patients were able to tolerate the chemotherapy better and without negative side effects after transplantation of the gene-modified stem cells, said senior researcher Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem.

This compares with patients in previous studies who received the same type of chemotherapy without a transplant of gene-modified stem cells.

One of the major barriers to effective use of chemotherapy drugs is their toxic effects on other organs, primarily bone marrow, which produces blood cells.

Damages to bone marrow make patients susceptible to infections due to lack of immune cells while lower production of red blood cells which carry oxygen in blood causes shortness of breath and tiredness.

To prevent those side effects, researchers isolated samples of blood producing stem cells of each patients bone marrow before chemotherapy. A virus was then used to deliver the cells a gene which protected them against the chemotherapy drug. The cells were then put back into the patient.

"This therapy is analogous to firing at both tumor cells and bone marrow cells, but giving the bone marrow cells protective shields while the tumor cells are unshielded," said co-author Dr Jennifer Adair.

Researchers say the method should be tested on more volunteers but it has already showed that the new approach can not only be used for patients receiving temozolomide but also for those taking other chemotherapy drugs.

View original post here:
Stem cell jab cuts chemo side effects

This entry was posted on May 11, 2012 at 8:14 am and is filed under Stem Cell Negative. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |