International press is reporting the results of a study that apparently links the development of cancer to the use of adult stem cells.
- Stem cells from adults may cause cancer
- Old stem cells can become cancerous
- Stem cells cancer fear
- Cancer risk raises stem cell doubt
However, Lifesite has a different view of the studies:
Source: LifeSiteBias in favour of embryo stem cell research is rife in media that is totally dedicated to the political cause of abortion. Now the BBC has followed suit and run the scare headline, "Adult Cells Cancer Threat."
In research published in the New Scientist, the Spanish scientists have shown that if adult cells are cultivated long past the stage at which they are normally used for research, they can be induced to form tumours. A team at the Autonomous University of Madrid grew the cells for up to eight months and then transplanted into animals where the oldest of the cells formed cancerous growths. The BBC, a long time supporter of both cannibalistic embryo research and abortion, however, declined to mention until the middle of the story that the researchers themselves thought the threat of cancer with adult cells is only 'theoretical.'
The tumours formed only in the oldest of the cells, those that had been divided up to 190 times. At that stage they had begun to produce an enzyme that made them continue replicating after implantation. This enzyme only develops long after the stage at which adult cells are ever used for treatments.In fact, although adult stem cell research has been dismissed by proponents of embryonic stem cell research, recent studies are changing minds:Professor Christopher Higgins, of the Medical Research Council Clinical Science Centre, said, "Stem cell lines maintained and developed in stem cell banks over a long period of time are currently only used for research purposes. They are not transplanted into people.
In the early stage of stem cell research when scientists were using cells taken from aborted fetuses for transplantation, it was found that aggressive cancer cells or tetromas were a high likelihood, and led to death and permanent disability.
While embryonic stem cells have not yielded any successful disease therapy, in the last few years, a stunning array of illnesses and injuries have been routinely treated with adult stem cells and many more are being studied with prospects of success. Some diseases that are frequently cited as justification for embryo research are now being successfully treated with adult cells including Parkinson's disease, cancer and spinal cord injuries. Research is moving forward with diabetes that uses live donors of a type of cell called 'islet' cells that will shortly make embryo stem cell research for diabetes redundant.
Several recent scientific studies suggest that adult stem cells can produce a range of tissues, reviving prospects that many benefits of embryonic stem cells could be realized without the accompanying moral and regulatory pitfalls.Nevertheless, those who favor ESC research are reportedly "skeptical" of the new findings and successful applications. They "haven't had time to read the latest papers offering evidence of adult stem cell plasticity." One scientist remarked, "I'm turning a blind eye to all of it. I figure if something really good happens, I'll hear about it and go read about it."
Good things really have happened.... more here.
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