If stem cells - or stem-like cells - of distinctive character turn out to be the heart and root of cancer, that'll be a lucky break in the world of complexity formed by our biochemistry. As scientists understand the workings of stem cells and the microenvironment of stem cell niches, more possibilities are coming to light - and just as the biomedical research community is becoming very good at safely killing specific cell types, too. Lucky indeed if it works out that way, as most of us have cancer in our future - especially if we plan on living many more years in health and vigor than our ancestors had the chance to enjoy.

Researchers Detect Small Set of Cancer Stem Cells That Are Similar To Normal Stem Cells:

Current cancer therapies often succeed at initially eliminating the bulk of the disease, including all rapidly proliferating cells, but are eventually thwarted because they cannot eliminate a small reservoir of multiple-drug-resistant tumor cells, called cancer stem cells, which ultimately become the source of disease recurrence and eventual metastasis. Now, research by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests that for chemotherapy to be truly effective in treating lung cancers, for example, it must be able to target a small subset of cancer stem cells, which they have shown share the same protective mechanisms as normal lung stem cells.

CSHL scientists successfully target tumor microenvironment to stop cancer growth:

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers led by Daniel Nolan and Assistant Professor Vivek Mittal have found that bone marrow (BM) derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a critical role in the early stages of tumor progression and that eliminating EPCs stops cancer growth.

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Using antibodies developed for angiogenic cancer treatment, CSHL researchers collaborated with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer center (MSKCC) and were able to remove EPCs without harming normal blood vessels. This has significant clinical potential, particularly in fighting cancer re-growth after incomplete surgical resection or chemotherapy. “The exciting news is that targeting such a minor population of the BM-derived tumor microenvironment has such a dramatic impact on tumor progression,” said Mittal. The study makes clear that in addition to developing therapies that directly target cancer cells, it is also equally important to develop therapies that target critical non-cancer cells like EPCs.

Pre-cancerous blood diseases can be products of their environment:

When blood-forming stem cells misbehave, causing pre-cancerous conditions that can sometimes even progress to leukemia, the problem might not always lie with them. Rather, two studies in the June 15 issue of the journal Cell, published by Cell Press, reveal that a bad environment might be to blame.

Both reports show that defects in the bone marrow - where blood cells are made - can spawn such pre-cancerous blood disorders in mice. Previously, such myeloproliferative syndromes were thought to be rooted in the blood cells themselves.

“We show that the bone marrow microenvironment can make the blood cells become abnormal, like a type of pre-leukemic disease”

The more that researchers come to understand these systems and processes, the closer we come to truly effective medical engineering for prevention and cure. Cancer is just one of the most obvious targets - but once scientists have the knowledge and tools to defeat cancer, the field will long have been open to tackle many other systematic age-related changes in our cells and their interactions.

Technorati tags: cancer research, stem cell research

Posted by Reason at June 15, 2007 10:31 PM | TrackBack (0)