A promising new adult stem cell treatment for breast reconstruction of women who have had lump-ectomies to treat breast cancer has been reported in the Washington Post. From the story:
For the first time, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat to fix breast defects in women who have had cancerous lumps removed. The approach is still experimental, but holds promise for millions of women left with cratered areas and breasts that look very different from each other after cancer surgery. It also might be a way to augment healthy breasts without using artificial implants…
In the Japanese study, doctors liposuctioned fat from 21 breast cancer patients’ tummies, hips or thighs. Half was reserved as the main implant material; the rest was processed to extract stem cells and combined with the reserved fat. This was injected in three places around a breast defect.
Eight months after treatment, “about 80 percent of the patients are satisfied” with the results, said the lead researcher, Dr. Keizo Sugimachi of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. There was a statistically significant improvement in breast tissue thickness at one and six months after treatment.
Doctors with no role in the research say longer study is needed to see if these results last.
Promising results in early human trials with adult stem cells are popping up all over the place. Now that the iPSC breakthrough has sucked much of the anti-Bush venom from the issue, expect the media to report more stories like this. The news blockade is, at last, crumbling.
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