Stem Cell Research, A Unique Cancer Research Cancer affects millions of people around the world and is the most common cause of death. Many people die from this disease after suffering for a long time, but a few lucky ones make it through and live a healthy life thereafter. Today, cancer research has become one of the most important fields in medical studies. In the search of finding an ultimate cure for cancer, stem cells are being used most extensively for its treatment. Stem cells research indicates that most of the cancers, be it skin, prostate, lung or breast cancer, arise from the CSCs, i.e. cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells make up only a very small percentage of cells in a tumor, thus they lay dormant and are difficult to target in chemotherapy. This enables the cancer stem cells to differentiate and self renew at a later point of time, developing a new tumor and the cancer starts to grow again. Adult stem cell cancer therapy is now being used to treat most types of cancers through bone-marrow transplant, invoking the immune system to fight cancer cells on its own. It is the most widespread method of treatment for leukemia and lymphomas. The procedure involved is full of difficulties but it works miraculously in most cases. In this therapy, the person suffering from cancer is given chemotherapy in a high enough dose to kill as many cancer cells as possible. This also makes room for new stem cells in the bone marrow. Healthy adult stem cells are then collected from healthy donors, which are injected or transplanted into the bone marrow of the patient. These healthy stem cells then attack the cancer stem cells that are seen as foreign cells/bodies, thereby curing the patient. Although this method is highly successful, but not so for solid cancers, like stomach cancers or brain tumors. It has also been found that wild berries may help in boosting cancer therapy. Although, the experiment has been conducted only on cancer cells in labs and is yet to be proved equally fruitful in human trials, but the researchers hope to prove it effective as the results seem quite promising. This experiment was conducted on samples of pancreatic cancer cells. It was found that more cancer cells died on using berry extracts along with the conventional chemotherapy drug than on using the drug alone. The researchers believe that the compound named polyphenol found in berries might be responsible for reducing the number of harmful cells. Bt it is not yet suggested to take berries alongside the conventional chemotherapy, as the finding is still in the experimental level and yet to be proven on human trials. Another drug used in a cancer experiment has been recently reported to be able to reverse the schizophrenia as well along with cancer. Again, the drug is yet not available to be taken by humans as the experiment was conducted on adolescent mice. The drug was found to halt the biological pruning process during which a lot of important neural connections are destroyed. The medical research field is progressing on a rapid pace, and it is highly hoped that various experiments and researches conducted by the highly qualified medical professionals soon come with a permanent and effective solution to save lives and decrease the suffering caused due to cancer.
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