Treatment of Cancer with Cord Blood Stem Cells

A body is made up of several cells. The cells give structure to the body, take in the nutrients from food, and transform those nutrients into energy. Cells in a multicellular organism do become specialized by turning different genes on and off inside a stem cell. This process is known as cell differentiation, and it allows cells to take on specific functions within the body. The cells further specialise in red blood cells (oxygen-carrying protein (haemoglobin), adipose (fat) cells, nerve cells, epithelial cells (cavities and surfaces of the body), ovum (egg) cells as well as sperm cells.

When the body is cancerous, the cells divide uncontrollably and spread across the surrounding tissues. Cancer grows in the form of a tumour spread into the nearby tissues and the other parts of the body. Simultaneously, blood cancer is due to the DNA mutations within blood cells.

If someone is suffering from cancer, it has a unique genetic combination. Additional changes come along with the growth of cancer.

To treat any kind of cancer in the body, the patient might have to undergo radio, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.

With the advent of stem cell therapy, stem cell transplantation is also an option. Stem cell transplants are the ways to restore blood-forming stem cells that were damaged by chemo or radiotherapy. The stem cell transplants can be autologous as well as allogeneic. The stem cells can come from the bone, blood, brain, as well as umbilical cord or cord blood.

Although with the bone marrow stem cell transplant or peripheral blood stem cell transplant, there are chances of developing complications of graft-versus-host-disease, the umbilical cord or cord blood stem cell transplant is now considered the most promising alternative for cancer.

Cord blood stem cells are known to treat more than 80 malignant and non-malignant diseases, including blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma.

After all, stem cells present in the cord blood are young and naïve, and the haematopoietic stem cells from the cord blood can differentiate into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets during the treatment.

That's an interesting study. The University of Pennsylvania found that cancer patients who undergo umbilical cord blood stem transplants could have a portion of the cord expanded to generate T cells, which could potentially be used for immunotherapy after the transplant. This could be a promising development in the treatment of cancer, as immunotherapy has shown great potential in fighting cancer cells.

It's interesting to know that there are ongoing studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center that aim to improve outcomes for patients undergoing cord blood transplants. The trials compare double umbilical cord blood transplantation (dUCBT) with or without Notch-mediated ex vivo cord expansion and investigate the infusion of a non-HLA-matched ex vivo expanded cord with either a single or dUCBT. These studies have the potential to make significant advancements in the treatment of cancer.