What do you know about the stem cell? For one, it is widely applied to regenerative medicine. It’s also an essentially utilized tool for the treatment of cancer. Before, it is recognized in renewing the immune system for chemotherapy or radiation treated patients. Until just recently, it was engineered carrying therapeutic reagents in targeting tumor sites.
Even cancer vaccines heavily rely on the knowledge of cancer stem cells studied and applied for the treatment of cancer. One type known is the induced pluripotent stem cells creative active T cells. This way, cancer immunotherapy is as supported in this case. This is also considering the unique characteristics of the stem cells like migration, tissue reparation, and immunological tolerance.
Indeed, cancer is the number one cause of death around the world. Almost fourteen million are categorized as new cases. And, 8.2 million deaths have once been reported in 2012. This is based on the World Cancer Report conducted in 2014.
Until these days, there are cancer methods utilized including chemotherapy, surgical extraction, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy, & stem cells. Indeed, stem cells are contributing further their significant roles in the approaches followed in cancer treatment. Stem cells are uniquely characterized by differentiation, self-renew, and damage repair. Moreover, stem cells are exploited as an essential tool supporting more of the conventional approaches. This is true to say considering the development of newer cancer treatment methods.
Stem Cell Transplantation Recovering the Immune System
Stem cell transplantation is another procedure utilized in recovering the marrow function of patients. This is as to those experiencing damaged immune systems or severe marrow injuries. They can come from peripheral blood, bone marrow, & umbilical cord blood. Many terms have been utilized regarding stem cell transplantation. These can include cord blood transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, and hematopoietic cell transplantation. These are somehow the different names utilized for the very same procedure. Moreover, two types of transplantation are known as well including the allogeneic and autologous stem cell transportation.
In the autologous stem cell transplantation, stem cells are utilized by the patients. This transplantation type is intended for cancer patients exposed to a higher dose of radiation therapy or chemotherapy. The higher doses of treatment are utilized in eliminating cancer cells. Nevertheless, they can damage the immune system and the bone marrow, too. That’s why stem cell preservation is carried out. The stem cells collected from the blood or bone marrow treatment are frozen. Afterward, thawed stem cells are infused back into the patient. This is to fully restore the function of the immune system.
Since the stem cells come from the own body of a patient, the immune system that is recovered by the stem cell does not attack the tissue of a patient. The immune system is recovered to be a lot stronger.
In the allogeneic stem cell transplantation, stem cells from donors are utilized to be unrelated or related. The main criterion in this transplantation is the compatibility of the tissue type. This is known as the human leukocyte antigen or the HLA between the donor and the recipient. The benefit this can bring is the elimination of cancer cells and suppression of the immune system of a patient. The immune cells of a patient are less able to attack the donated stem cell.
It has its essential benefit that is the generation of graft versus tumor effect. This effect is a donor immune system that recognizes the remaining cancer cells surviving after the higher chemotherapy doses. In this effect, it reduces the risk of possible occurrences of the disease.
The GVT effect is also accompanied by the GvHD influencing mortality after the transplantation. Patients treated by drugs help reduce GvHD. Thus, the ability of donated immune cells is reduced as they are reacting with the patient’s tissues.
The donated stem cells that develop the new immune system tolerated the host’s issue; the patient can stop or reduce the use of the drug. This is in regard to suppressing the immune cells. Different factors are utilized like the stem cell sources, donor selection, & immunosuppressive regimen. They help in balancing the GVHD and the GvT.
In all these, stem cells for cancer (transplantation) support a higher-dose of chemotherapy. This has indeed been shown to be effective in the treatment of a patient with blood cancers. High doses of radiation therapy and chemotherapy using SCT are also applicable to be used for patients having solid tumors.
Now, you have learned stem cell for cancer Thailand is indeed a widely useful tool!