The conventional modern day cancer therapy rests on chemotherapy and radiation, both of which causes massive damage to normal cells and left the patient severely weakened and perilously clinging to life. Worse the above mentioned treatments caused a number of side effects and often patients succumbed to the side effects of cancer therapy than the disease itself. How nice it will be if a method which is safe and acts only on the cancerous cells is perfected. Thankfully this is going to be possible in the coming days. A method which has been tried in mice successfully is now ready for human trials.
Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a new method to use stem cells in the fight against brain cancer. A research team led by neuroscientist Khalid Shah, MS, PhD, who recently verified the use of stem cells laced with cancer-killing herpes viruses, now has a perfected a method to genetically engineer stem cells so that they can produce and secrete tumor-killing toxins.
Shah’s and his research team demonstrated how the toxin-secreting stem cells can be used to kill cancer cells remaining in mouse brains after their main tumor has been removed. The details have been published in the AlphaMed Press journal STEM CELLS.
It is a completely new approach to cancer treatment. Special stem cells which were cropped in laboratory were able to destroy cancer cells without affecting the normal cells. The method was perfected in a laboratory where the laboratory stem cells were surrounded in a gel and the gel was placed on the brain that had previously been occupied by the tumor. The cancerous cells around the spot were quickly killed by the toxins released by the stem cells.
The method could be replicated in humans and the chances of its success are very high. Scientists agree that the toxins produced by the stem cells are very potent and can kill the cancerous cells. Such an approach has been used in the treatment of blood cancer and the same method is being used in the treatment of solid cancerous tumors for the first time.
The use of stem cells to fight cancer is a new concept and will lead to better prognosis and patient compliance.
