Stem cells and cancer stem cells, volume 4: Therapeutic applications in disease and injury

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Abstract

It is difficult to overstate the potential applications of stem-cell biology to our understanding of, and responses to, disease and injury. This volume aims to bring to its readers authoritative and responsive coverage of aspects of the field that will keep them up-to-date in a fast-moving scientific landscape. The fourth volume in the series on stem cells and their cancer-carrying counterparts, this book sets out the plethora of therapeutic applications offered by a group of specific stem cells in tackling disease and tissue injury. The list of subjects includes embryonic, induced pluripotent, human hair follicle, bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal, adipose-derived, cancer, and breast cancer stem cells, in addition to periodontal/progenitor cells. The adaptability of human embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to develop into any cell type, ensures them an especially detailed treatment. Contributions explore the causal influence of cancer stem cells in malignancies such as cancer and breast cancer, and delineate the way mesenchymal stem cells contribute to the growth and metastasis of colon cancer. Shifting from disease to treatment, the text explains the therapeutic value of transplanting mesenchymal stem cells to the injured brain as an aid to its recovery. It includes material, too, on the exciting prospect of valuable new targeted cancer drugs borne of our increasing understanding of the molecular pathways peculiar to tumor biology. Key topics, such as the benefit of stem cell transplantation to immune system recovery among severe combined immunodeficiency patients, and the treatment of malignant gliomas using genetically modified neural stem cells as markers, provide a window on cutting-edge work in these specialized subjects. The extensive scope and detailed analysis of this volume, and of the series to which it belongs, mean that whether readers want a breakdown of the impact being made by cancer stem cell research on the design of next-generation cancer therapies, or details of the way stem cells could transform regenerative medicine by repairing damage to vital organs and tissues, they will find these-and much more-here.

Publication Title

Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells, Volume 4: Therapeutic Applications in Disease and Injury

First Page Number

1

Last Page Number

319

DOI

10.1007/978-94-007-2828-8

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