How Has Stem Cell Research Benefited Humanity?

Stem cell research has resulted in significant advancements to medicine, from its first inception with bone marrow transplants in the 1960s to more rapid progress within the last couple of decades. Stem cells are capable of developing into different types of cells, allowing them to be used to treat a wide range of diseases and disorders. Studying how stem cells mature into bone, nerves, heart muscle, organs, and other tissues can also help researchers learn about how disease develops. 

In regenerative medicine, stem cells can be used to replace or repair damaged tissue and organs, which is revolutionary in the treatment of various cancers. Stem cell research has also shown promise in treating conditions like Parkinson’s, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, spinal cord injury, blindness, autoimmune disease, and more. Research is also underway to better understand how stem cells can be used in tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting of organs — advancements on this front would greatly relieve the heavily burdened organ transplant system. 

Stem cell therapy and cancer

Using stem cells to treat certain types of cancer, doctors can mitigate the risk of the cell-damaging side effects associated with chemotherapy and radiation, and in certain cases, treat cancer cells directly. The stem cells used for transplants come from bone marrow (either the patient’s or someone else’s), the bloodstream (the patient’s or someone else’s), or the umbilical cord of a newborn.

Many cancers start in bone marrow or spread to it, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Stem cell therapy for cancer replaces a patient’s own stem cells that have been destroyed or damaged by cancer, radiation, or chemo. By transplanting healthy stem cells, a medical team can use much greater doses of chemo to attack the cancer, as the healthy cells will continue normal growth and reproduce cancer-free cells. 

Another type of cancer-treating stem cell therapy is known as the “graft-versus-cancer” effect, which uses stem cells transplanted from someone other than the patient. Donated cells are usually more able to seek and kill cancerous cells than the patient’s own immune cells. The “graft,” aka donated stem cells, helps destroy cancer cells along with encouraging the growth of normal cells in bone marrow. 

Sources 

“How Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplants Are Used to Treat Cancer”. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/stem-cell-transplant/why-stem-cell-transplants-are-used.html 

“Regenerative Medicine”. Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies. https://www.aabb.org/news-resources/resources/cellular-therapies/facts-about-cellular-therapies/regenerative-medicine 

“Introduction to Stem Cells”. National Institutes of Health. https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics 

“Stem Cells”. What is Biotechnology? https://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/science/summary/stem/stem-cells-repair-tissues-and-regenerate-cells 

“Stem Cells: What they are and what they do”. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bone-marrow-transplant/in-depth/stem-cells/art-20048117