Oncologists are now faced with the challenge of understanding how specialized drugs can strike tumor stem cells and impair their ability to replicate and spread. This is one of the most important questions that researchers will have to answer in upcoming years according to Regina Elena Institute hematologist Michele Milella. In San Francisco at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Congress Milella spoke about future hematology issues, including fighting blood borne tumors with stem cell transplants over the past years.
“The ASH in this sense is an excellent indicator for where research is going, and represents an obligatory stop for hematologists and oncologists who study blood borne tumors. Each year, researchers meet here and outline the direction for future research until the next conference.” The research discussed here is being performed by numerous Italian scientists, assured Milella. “Italian hematology is among the best in the world, among the top in Europe, and even compared to the USA. Here at the ASH numerous high quality results have been presented by Italian research groups.”
From a hematology-oncology perspective, stem cells are considered a target in therapy; on the other hand, totipotent cancer stem cells are considered a possible key in curing cancer. “Here at the ASH we are entering into a new frontier using these types of cells to transplant preventatively treated mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, to transport therapeutic molecules to diseased cells. Numerous studies are ongoing.”
