The use of stem cells in cancer treatment

Abstract

Caner is ongoing cause of death in the United States. Whether it be skin cancer, liver cancer or lung cancer, millions of people have died from it. Over the past decades with technologies advancements stem cell therapy have provided new potential approaches to cure cancer patients.  Stem cell therapy is ongoing clinical study for cancer treatments due to its side effects, ethical considerations and how they do not directly target the cancer. Through these studies different types of stem cell were used for their trials such as Pluripotent Stem Cells (PSCs), Embryonic stem cells, and Cancer stem cells. Stem cells are cells in our body that help rebuild damaged tissue but when it comes to targeting cancer it’s a difficult approach. A few studies have been broken down with their findings and progresses with the use of stem cells on cancer treatment patients. The studies talk about their approaches, clinical trials, and possibly future methods. When going through these studies a couple questions were raised. What are the long-term effects for stem cell therapy? Why is the use of stem cell in cancer treatment not talked about much? Could stem cells really be a cure to cancer patients?