stem cell bookStem cells have been important in the treatment of diseases that have hitherto proved difficult to manage with medicine. Stem cells have used in the treatment of cancer, as well as other diseases. Cancer diseases such as the acute and chronic forms of leukemia, lymphomas (Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s), blood-related diseases, as well non-hematologic diseases such as heart diseases, joint and bone disorders, diabetes and so on. This essay will focus on stem cells and the role it’s playing in the treatment of cancer, as well as the current developments in treatment options.

WHY IS CANCER IMPORTANT?

Cancer is a group of disease that that involves the abnormal growth of cells, which have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. There are over a hundred types of cancer diseases that affect humans. Cancer if not well managed, leads to death. In fact, even with proper treatment, a cancer disease that is diagnosed late offers a very poor diagnosis. Although some people are more predisposed to having cancer, due to their genetics, people’s lifestyle also plays a huge role. As an illustration, smokers are more liable to have cancers associated with the respiratory system. Overall, cancer is one of the most common cause of death in the world. This is why it’s top priority for governments and researchers.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are cells that are that are capable of self-renewal, regeneration, and can be found in some specific parts of the body. Stem cells can be gotten from different sources such as the bone marrow, and body fat tissues. However, they are more abundant in umbilical cords and the embryo. Stem cells can be divided into three. These are the

  1. Embryonic stem cells: These are the stem cells that are gotten from embryos. They are extracted by isolating the inner cell mass of an embryo. The remaining parts of the embryo are usually discarded after the cell mass have been collected. The process of extracting embryonic stem cell has been tagged as abortion by most authorities of the world. This is why embryonic stem cell study has been largely restricted.
  2. Germinal stem cells: These cells are gotten from the primary germinal layers of the embryo. They can differentiate into more specified cells such as the bone cells, cartilage cells, muscle cells, hepatic cells, etc. The differentiate to produce cells of the organ.
  3. Somatic stem cells: The somatic stem cells can be found in the tissues of the body such as the bone marrow, gastrointestinal, blood, and nervous tissues.

Choosing the source of stem cells that would be used for cancer treatment

Embryonic stem cells are the ideal stem cells to be used for cancer treatment. This is because they are totipotent; meaning that they are capable of differentiating into all types of cells, as compared to other types of stem cells. However, as earlier said, the use of embryonic stem cells has been largely restricted due to moral ethical and moral grounds. The embryonic stem cell use and research have been banned in many countries of the world. As a result of this, adult stem cells have been the preferred stem cell used for researches and treatments, although, adult stem cells don’t have the totipotency level of embryonic stem cells. There are many sources of adult stem cells. However, adult stem cells from the bone marrow, are the most commonly used. Another reason why adult stem cells are the preferred cells is that they can easily be extracted from donors. The extraction of stem cells does not harm or hurt the donor in any way. Donors leave immediately leave after the procedure. After administering anesthesia to the patient, syringes are stuck into the hip bone marrow of the hip bones. More than one syringe is used to obtain the maximum amount of stem cells at a time. Usually, the procedure is done more than once, till the required amount of stem cell is gotten. The donor can also be the recipient of the stem cells, this is called autologous stem cell transplant, while on the other hand, the donor can also be a relative or another individual whose tissue type matches with the recipient.

Cancer stem cells

Cancer stem cells are a new concept that provides the answer to many questions surrounding the failure of cancer treatment. Cancer stem cells are the cells in tumors, and they can clone themselves and multiply, just like the normal functioning cells. Cancer stem cells can proliferate without control. In addition to this, they also migrate from their origin to another part of the body. This process is called metastases. It has been proven that when tumor cells are targeted and killed, they often come back after some months or years. This is because the cells that initiated the proliferation is still viable in the system. The major problem and focus of researchers have been to be able to identify the type of cell that is proliferating and sustaining the cancer growth. Lately, cancer stem cells have been noticed in breast and brain cancer tumors. These cells have shown that they can self-regenerate, and also form different types of cells just like a healthy cell.

Cancer stem cells and how it affects stem cell therapy

Researchers are now focusing on the proliferative property of cancer stem cells, to know how to manage them. This property and the ability of the stem cells to metastasize have been responsible for the failure in treatments. The implication of this on cancer treatment is that

  1. Normal cells if mutated can lead to the development of other types of tumor.
  2. Also, a cancer disease treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy usually does not completely lose all its cancer stem cells. The remnant cancer stem cells can proliferate to form new ones. This is when remission occurs.
  3. The cancer stem cells can metastasize from one part of the body to another.

According to theory, identifying the cancer stem cells may be the way forward to treating cancer diseases. Research is still ongoing, on how the stem cells could be useful in the treatment of cancer.

References

Matchett, K. and Lappin, T. (2014). Concise Reviews: Cancer Stem Cells: From Concept to Cure. STEM CELLS, 32(10), pp.2563-2570.Papaccio, F., Paino, F., Regad, T., Papaccio, G., Desiderio, V. and Tirino, V. (2017). Concise Review: Cancer Cells, Cancer Stem Cells, and Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Influence in Cancer Development. STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, 6(12), pp.2115-2125.Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells. (2006). Cancer Research, 66(12), pp.6458-6458.