Vermehrung von Nabelschnurblut-Stammzellen als neue Hoffnung für Krebspatienten

Umbilical cord blood stem cells have been used in medicine for over 30 years to treat more than 80 different diseases such as leukemias, lymphomas and sickle cell anemia. In the field of regenerative medicine, the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells has also been shown to provide clinical benefits to patients. Because of its limitations, cord blood has been used more frequently in pediatric patients than in adults. However, the results of recent clinical trials show that the increased cord blood stem cells can also be successfully transplanted in adult patients.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells are the hope of 21st century medicine. Currently, more than 3,000 studies are underway worldwide in various fields to explore the potential of stem cells. The results of a study on the use of augmented cord blood stem cells in the treatment of patients with blood cancers, published last week, show that cord blood stem cells grown in the laboratory and transplanted into patients are of significant clinical benefit. Omidubicel is the name of a preparation of hematopoietic cells from one unit of umbilical cord blood that have been propagated under laboratory conditions. A clinical trial evaluated its effectiveness compared with standard cord blood stem cell transplantation. The study lasted from January 2015 to January 2020 and included 125 patients aged 13 to 65 with blood cancers.

Patients who received omidubicel achieved adequate white blood cell recovery 10 days earlier than patients who underwent standard therapy. They also had faster platelet recovery [up to 42 days vs. 90 days], a lower incidence of bacterial or invasive fungal infections (37% vs. 57%), and spent more time out of the hospital in the first 100 days after transplantation than patients in the control group.

The proliferation of hematopoietic cells was the Holy Grail of hematology - an idea that, despite many attempts over decades, no one was able to realize. The results of this study show that the point has been reached where the number of cells no longer matters. Even more - the increased cells from cord blood can regenerate the hematopoietic system faster after transplantation. This could mean a wider introduction of this type of methods into clinical practice - says Emilian Snarski, MD, Medical Director of FamiCord Group.

This is another study that shows the possibility of propagation of hematopoietic cells from cord blood and their effective use in the treatment of blood cancers. Thanks to such methods of proliferation of hematopoietic cells from cord blood, cord blood can be effectively used even if the number of collected cells was relatively small.

Link to the abstract