City of Hope Uses Stem Cells Injected Into Woman’s Brain To Fight Cancerous Tumor

This poor woman was told she had about 2 months left to live and then found out about the research at the City of Hope and was ready to go.  She is the very first recipient in this area to try using stem cells to help cure and/or treat her brain tumor.

In addition to the stem cells an enzyme is injected directly into the brain and the hope is the stem cells will seek out and attach themselves to the tumor.  The drug also administered  is to react with the stem cells and the enzyme and get the chemotherapy drug activated at the tumor target, and hopefully the healthy brain tissue will be left untouched.  With a woman give a diagnosis of 2 months to live, she has nothing to risk at this point and perhaps everything to gain and has traveled from Seattle for the procedure.  The chemotherapy should be easier on her body too without having the chemotherapy go through here entire body.  BD   

(CBS) Doctors injected stem cells into a woman's brain, hoping they'll fight her cancer. Close to 23,000 Americans are diagnosed with brain cancer each year and more than half that number die. Some pioneering research may be changing that.
In California Wednesday that woman made medical history, the first human being to have stem cells injected into her brain to try to cure cancer. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy met this pioneer patient and has an exclusive look at this ground-breaking procedure.

Dr. Karen Aboody has been working on a revolutionary new cancer treatment for the very worst brain tumors called glioblastomas, the same kind Vonckx has.

"The chemotherapy is never going toxic all over the body. It's just being made where the tumor cells are, so in that case we should have a lot less side effect," says Aboody.

Stem Cells Used to Fight Woman's Brain Tumor - CBS Evening News - CBS News

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