Stem cells give new hope for improving radiation therapy

A treatment with adult stem cells can reduce the side effects of radiation therapy in mice and rats, according to several presentations at the 25th annual congress of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Researchers showed that tissue damaged by radiation heals faster after stem cell therapy.

Speaking at the ESTRO conference, Catherine Verfaillie, director of the Stem Cell Institute of the University Leuven in Belgium, said that stem cells that settle in the organ systems could be stimulated to repair tissue damage.

Rob Coppes of the University Groningen, the Netherlands, presented results from a European Union-sponsored initiative called the FIRST Project, which found that the side effects of a radiation therapy on various healthy tissues, such as skin and mucosa, can be reduced by treatment with adult stem cells. The stem cells migrate to the radiated tissue and support its regeneration. If studies confirm that this stem cell effect also occurs in humans, this would expand the treatment options for tumors because currently-valid radiation dosage limits could be surpassed.