Cancer warning over stem cell therapies
- Thread starter zar
- Start date
Where's the rest of the story?
I think this short article is interesting, but it also brings up what I have said before. Is this all stem cells they are talking about? I would think anyone that knew anything in the stem cell world would be already screening. It is so difficult to get more than bits and pieces about findings such as this. It leaves me with more questions than answers as do many articles. I know there has been some research done with mice where super tumors grew after getting embryonic stem cells. Maybe, someone can dig a little deeper on this article and find some more content. This is sort of like the news reports one hears about various things in our lives that have now been shown to not be good for you. A few months later, it is retracted or something new is now no good for us. Something as important as this, I believe, needs more than a few paragraphs. It is something that recipients may want to ask the companies they choose for treatment if indeed this information is accurate.
I think this short article is interesting, but it also brings up what I have said before. Is this all stem cells they are talking about? I would think anyone that knew anything in the stem cell world would be already screening. It is so difficult to get more than bits and pieces about findings such as this. It leaves me with more questions than answers as do many articles. I know there has been some research done with mice where super tumors grew after getting embryonic stem cells. Maybe, someone can dig a little deeper on this article and find some more content. This is sort of like the news reports one hears about various things in our lives that have now been shown to not be good for you. A few months later, it is retracted or something new is now no good for us. Something as important as this, I believe, needs more than a few paragraphs. It is something that recipients may want to ask the companies they choose for treatment if indeed this information is accurate.
Barb
The article doesn't provide much information to research. I know for a fact that adult and umbilical cord stem cells do not cause cancers; however embryonic stem cells have a history of producing tumors.
Not much info to research based on this article and one wonders why write such an article. Was it written to intentionally slam stem cells? Seems pointless.
The article doesn't provide much information to research. I know for a fact that adult and umbilical cord stem cells do not cause cancers; however embryonic stem cells have a history of producing tumors.
Not much info to research based on this article and one wonders why write such an article. Was it written to intentionally slam stem cells? Seems pointless.
Hi Jeannine,Barb
The article doesn't provide much information to research. I know for a fact that adult and umbilical cord stem cells do not cause cancers; however embryonic stem cells have a history of producing tumors.
Not much info to research based on this article and one wonders why write such an article. Was it written to intentionally slam stem cells? Seems pointless.
I could not access any more info on the article,maybe Vic knows how?. Tried to subcribe 8times to newscientists,would not accept my post code?, have lived here for 10years.I did find this.ZAR.
In a University of Calgary laboratory crowded with researchers and refrigerators, Dr. John Kelly removes a plastic flask from the cool interior of what looks like a minibar.
Pink fluid swishes around the flask as the young scientist places it on a counter and focuses a microscope on the liquid. Clumps of cells, grown from human brain tumours, are clearly visible under the lens.
For 12 months, Kelly has been studying these tumours because he believes stem cells -- often thought of as a kind of "miracle cell" -- may be at the root of the cancerous growths.
"We think there's a relationship between neural stem cells and brain tumours," said the soft-spoken Kelly.
That possibility seems like a contradiction.
After all, stem cells have made headlines around the world as one of the hottest areas of science.
Prized for their potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body, some researchers believe stem cells hold the key to unlocking treatments for a variety of afflictions -- from Parkinson's to spinal cord injuries.
But Kelly is studying whether some of these so-called golden cells have a dark side.
The neurosurgery resident and PhD candidate is not alone. A growing body of evidence links stem cells to several cancers, including brain and breast cancer.
Scientists believe that stem cells normally work as a repair system in the body, thanks to their ability to replicate. They can divide and replace other cells that die off.
That same ability to generate new cells, however, could take a turn for the worse if a rogue stem cell begins dividing out of control and forms a cancerous mass of cells -- a tumour.
"We believe there could be a genetic accident that causes a cell that divides a little to divide a lot," said Dr. Sam Weiss, director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary.
Weiss, Kelly and the three other Calgary labs now working on this project have shown that cells taken from human brain tumours behave remarkably like stem cells under certain conditions.
It's a finding that lends credence to the theory that people's own brain stem cells could cause cancerous brain tumours if they undergo a mutation.
Kelly's research shows, for example, that cells from human brain tumours are able to grow into the three types of cells found in the central nervous system. Stem cells, similarly, have the potential to become different types of cells.
But Kelly has also found an important difference between normal stem cells and those cells taken from brain tumours: the tumour cells divide without any stimulation. Normal stem cells, by contrast, only divide when necessary.
The implication is that the cancer cells have undergone some kind of mutation that is causing them to multiply out of control, creating the tumours.
The University of Calgary research found that when the tumour cells are placed in mice, they travel and form tumours throughout the brain. This is similar to how cancer attacks the human brain by spreading to more than one location.
Kelly said this finding could provide a far better model for studying brain cancer. Until now, researchers have used cells that create a tumour that remains in one place in the brain, which doesn't really replicate the human experience with brain cancer.
Ultimately, the scientists want to discover what they call an initiator cell, or cell of origin.
This is the cell where they believe the cancer begins, a stem cell that, in theory, undergoes a mutation due to factors such as genetics and the environment. Following the mutation, the cells begin dividing out of control.
Kelly hopes that if his work can isolate these stem cells, other researchers will be able to develop drugs to kill those cells.
Many current cancer treatments kill or remove large parts of the tumour, but they may be missing the problem stem cells, which could explain why cancer often recurs.
"You may be able to develop more targeted therapies," said Kelly, who is preparing his initial research for publication. He is also slated to present the findings at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in October.
Source: Calgary Herald ? The Leader-Post (Regina) 2006
cellmedicine
New member
Cancer and stem cells
The paper was referring to some other studies describing transformation of stem cells into cancer cells. The studies are not saying that stem cell therapy causes cancer, they are saying the sometimes when cancer does appear, it may come from pre-existing stem cells that are already in the body but have mutated.
In some ways this makes sense a cell that is differentiated and fully mature does not turn cancerous, it is earlier immature cells that become cancerous and make copies of themselves and refuse to mature.
This does not mean that stem cells cause cancer, it is just explaining what cancer is. Cancer shares properties with stem cells because both cancer cells and stem cells are "immature". Normal stem cells mature and make functional tissue, cancer cells instead of maturing make copies of themslevs.
The paper was referring to some other studies describing transformation of stem cells into cancer cells. The studies are not saying that stem cell therapy causes cancer, they are saying the sometimes when cancer does appear, it may come from pre-existing stem cells that are already in the body but have mutated.
In some ways this makes sense a cell that is differentiated and fully mature does not turn cancerous, it is earlier immature cells that become cancerous and make copies of themselves and refuse to mature.
This does not mean that stem cells cause cancer, it is just explaining what cancer is. Cancer shares properties with stem cells because both cancer cells and stem cells are "immature". Normal stem cells mature and make functional tissue, cancer cells instead of maturing make copies of themslevs.
Barb
The article doesn't provide much information to research. I know for a fact that adult and umbilical cord stem cells do not cause cancers; however embryonic stem cells have a history of producing tumors.
Not much info to research based on this article and one wonders why write such an article. Was it written to intentionally slam stem cells? Seems pointless.
Breast Cancer
I Just Recently Found A Lump In My Right Breast, We Did A Biopsie, It Turned Out To Be Cancer And I Had My Right Breast Removed July 14th, Fortunately For Me The Cancer Was Confined To The Tumor. There Were No Cancer Cells In My Breast Tissue Or Lymph Nodes.
Because Of My Lungs I Cannot Take Chemo, Or Radiation, So I Now Have To Take Arimidex For The Next Five Years.
I Told The Cancer Dr. About My Stem Cell Treatment, And Asked Him If He Thought The Stem Cells Could Have Caused This Cancer In Any Way Shape Or Form, He Said No---in My Opinion It's A Good Thing I Did Have The Cells, Because Without Them, I Doubt My Lungs Would Have Been Strong Enough To Have Survived The Surgery----
I Just Recently Found A Lump In My Right Breast, We Did A Biopsie, It Turned Out To Be Cancer And I Had My Right Breast Removed July 14th, Fortunately For Me The Cancer Was Confined To The Tumor. There Were No Cancer Cells In My Breast Tissue Or Lymph Nodes.
Because Of My Lungs I Cannot Take Chemo, Or Radiation, So I Now Have To Take Arimidex For The Next Five Years.
I Told The Cancer Dr. About My Stem Cell Treatment, And Asked Him If He Thought The Stem Cells Could Have Caused This Cancer In Any Way Shape Or Form, He Said No---in My Opinion It's A Good Thing I Did Have The Cells, Because Without Them, I Doubt My Lungs Would Have Been Strong Enough To Have Survived The Surgery----
I know some doctors have suggested that if a person has cancer that stem cells can cause the cancer to proliferate. This is different from saying stem cells cause cancer. I am glad that you are doing well Rose and hope that somewhere down the road you can continue your quest for the cure for your COPD.