Fat Stem Cells Repair Damage Left by Lumpectomies
Each year, over 100,000 women in the United States undergo surgeries to remove cancerous lumps in their breasts. Although these lumpectomies can save the patient’s life, they also leave some of these women with uneven breasts or crater-like flaws in their breast tissue that are difficult to repair.
But a new technique recently tested on 21 breast cancer patients in Japan may one day give doctors a way to fix these defects — or augment healthy breast tissue — without using artificial implants.
The experimental procedure uses fat cells liposuctioned from the patient’s belly, hips or thighs. Half the fat cells removed from the patient’s body are reserved and the remaining half are processed to extract stem cells, a type of cell that has the ability to transform into many types of human tissue.
The reserved fat and the extracted stem cells are then injected into three sites around the area containing the defect.
According to the study’s lead researcher, Dr Keizo Sugimachi of Kyushu University, 79 percent of the study participants were satisfied with the results.
This technique and similar ones under development are generating a lot of interest in the plastic surgery community, but experts say physicians need to remain cautious about using fat cells for cosmetic purposes until more studies are completed.
Results from the Japanese study were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium held earlier in December 2007. Cytori Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CYTX) , the developer the new technique, plans larger studies in Europe and Japan in 2008.
Source: CBS News
Related Links: Chicago Tribune; The Japan Times; OBGYN.Net; KansasCity.com; MiamiHerald.com
Related Video – Clarian Arnett Housecall: Breast Cancer Surgery from YouTube
Related Podcast – Breast Cancer: Reconstructive Surgery on Woman’s Hour from BBC Radio
Tags: reconstructive surgery; breast cancer surgery; tumor; Marc Hedrick, MD; breast augmentation; Fukuoka, Japan; DCIS; adipose tissue; surgical oncology
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