干细胞移植使肿瘤萎缩
Stem-cell transplant shrinks tumors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A type of stem-cell transplant used to treat some forms of blood cancers looks promising for people with advanced kidney cancer, according to the results of a small study.
The experimental treatment was able to shrink, or in some cases even eliminate, tumors in about half of the patients who had advanced renal-cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. But more research is needed to make the treatment safer, the study's lead author told Reuters Health, since two people in the study died from transplant-related complications.
, http://www.100md.com
A total of 19 patients who had not been helped by all other standard treatments underwent the procedure. Seven had at least some shrinkage of tumors that had spread from the original cancer and three had a complete disappearance of the tumors, which can form in lymph nodes, glands, liver, bones, lungs and elsewhere. Nine of the patients were still alive 287 to 831 days after transplantation, according to the report in the September 14th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (news - web sites).
, 百拇医药
Once renal-cell carcinoma spreads, or metastasizes, to other parts of the body, the prognosis is not good, with an average survival of about a year. Although chemotherapy is rarely effective against metastatic renal-cell carcinoma, treatment with drugs such as interleukin-2 and interferon alfa does help some people with the disease.
For people who fail these treatments, however, renal-cell carcinoma is usually considered an incurable illness, according to Dr. Richard Childs, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
, 百拇医药
But Childs said in an interview that the stem-cell transplant, which is effective for some forms of leukemia, appears beneficial for some people with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.
Stem cells are immature cells circulating in the blood that have the potential to give rise to any type of blood or immune system cell. During a normal transplant of blood stem cells, Childs explained, high-dose chemotherapy is used to wipe out a cancer patient's immune system, and then stem cells and immune cells are collected from a related donor and transplanted.
, 百拇医药
The hope is that the stem cells will “take” in the recipient, allowing the body to wage war against cancer as well as infections, according to the researcher.
The problem with this approach is that as many as 30% of recipients die from infections or transplant-related complications while waiting for the body to rebuild its immune system using transplanted cells, Childs said. But a relatively new approach, which uses low-dose chemotherapy and short-term treatment with immune-suppressing drugs to weaken, rather than destroy, the body's defenses has proven successful in treating some forms of leukemia, according to Childs.
, http://www.100md.com
Childs and his colleagues found that this modified stem-cell transplant slows down the cancer in some people with renal-cell cancer that has metastasized. But Childs noted that the benefits of the treatment are not immediate. Even patients who eventually experienced success with the treatment had their tumors grow immediately after transplantation, when their immune systems were still weak, he said. Regression of tumors did not occur until 4 months afterwards, on average, once patients' immune systems had time to rebuild themselves so doctors could stop giving immune-suppressing drugs, according to Childs.
, http://www.100md.com
The treatment varied from patient to patient, with some receiving additional immune system cells after the initial transplant.
And despite its success, the modified stem-cell transplant is not risk-free, the researchers report. Two recipients died from transplant-related causes.
The authors conclude that, for the time being, the transplant “should remain an investigational approach” until it is further refined.
, 百拇医药
“This report opens new therapeutic possibilities not only for metastatic renal-cell cancer but also for other solid tumors that are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”Dr. Shimon Slavin, of Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel, writes in an editorial that accompanies the study.
However, Slavin points out that the benefits of the treatment were short-lived in some cases, that several recipients experienced a potentially fatal complication called graft-versus-host disease, and that two patients died after receiving the transplant.
“Clearly, the procedure needs further refinement to minimize complications and improve its efficacy.”the editorialist concludes., 百拇医药(Merritt McKinney)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A type of stem-cell transplant used to treat some forms of blood cancers looks promising for people with advanced kidney cancer, according to the results of a small study.
The experimental treatment was able to shrink, or in some cases even eliminate, tumors in about half of the patients who had advanced renal-cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. But more research is needed to make the treatment safer, the study's lead author told Reuters Health, since two people in the study died from transplant-related complications.
, http://www.100md.com
A total of 19 patients who had not been helped by all other standard treatments underwent the procedure. Seven had at least some shrinkage of tumors that had spread from the original cancer and three had a complete disappearance of the tumors, which can form in lymph nodes, glands, liver, bones, lungs and elsewhere. Nine of the patients were still alive 287 to 831 days after transplantation, according to the report in the September 14th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (news - web sites).
, 百拇医药
Once renal-cell carcinoma spreads, or metastasizes, to other parts of the body, the prognosis is not good, with an average survival of about a year. Although chemotherapy is rarely effective against metastatic renal-cell carcinoma, treatment with drugs such as interleukin-2 and interferon alfa does help some people with the disease.
For people who fail these treatments, however, renal-cell carcinoma is usually considered an incurable illness, according to Dr. Richard Childs, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
, 百拇医药
But Childs said in an interview that the stem-cell transplant, which is effective for some forms of leukemia, appears beneficial for some people with metastatic renal-cell carcinoma.
Stem cells are immature cells circulating in the blood that have the potential to give rise to any type of blood or immune system cell. During a normal transplant of blood stem cells, Childs explained, high-dose chemotherapy is used to wipe out a cancer patient's immune system, and then stem cells and immune cells are collected from a related donor and transplanted.
, 百拇医药
The hope is that the stem cells will “take” in the recipient, allowing the body to wage war against cancer as well as infections, according to the researcher.
The problem with this approach is that as many as 30% of recipients die from infections or transplant-related complications while waiting for the body to rebuild its immune system using transplanted cells, Childs said. But a relatively new approach, which uses low-dose chemotherapy and short-term treatment with immune-suppressing drugs to weaken, rather than destroy, the body's defenses has proven successful in treating some forms of leukemia, according to Childs.
, http://www.100md.com
Childs and his colleagues found that this modified stem-cell transplant slows down the cancer in some people with renal-cell cancer that has metastasized. But Childs noted that the benefits of the treatment are not immediate. Even patients who eventually experienced success with the treatment had their tumors grow immediately after transplantation, when their immune systems were still weak, he said. Regression of tumors did not occur until 4 months afterwards, on average, once patients' immune systems had time to rebuild themselves so doctors could stop giving immune-suppressing drugs, according to Childs.
, http://www.100md.com
The treatment varied from patient to patient, with some receiving additional immune system cells after the initial transplant.
And despite its success, the modified stem-cell transplant is not risk-free, the researchers report. Two recipients died from transplant-related causes.
The authors conclude that, for the time being, the transplant “should remain an investigational approach” until it is further refined.
, 百拇医药
“This report opens new therapeutic possibilities not only for metastatic renal-cell cancer but also for other solid tumors that are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy.”Dr. Shimon Slavin, of Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel, writes in an editorial that accompanies the study.
However, Slavin points out that the benefits of the treatment were short-lived in some cases, that several recipients experienced a potentially fatal complication called graft-versus-host disease, and that two patients died after receiving the transplant.
“Clearly, the procedure needs further refinement to minimize complications and improve its efficacy.”the editorialist concludes., 百拇医药(Merritt McKinney)
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