The Stem Cell Source regularly receives questions from readers, and we wanted to take some time to answer some of the most common questions now.  We’ll continue to do this on a regular basis.  Thank you for reading.  

Q & A:

Are adults who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) currently being treated with cord blood stem cells?
At this time, we are not aware of research using cord blood stem cells to treat adult patients who have suffered a TBI. The recently launched clinical trial for TBI at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is evaluating the safety of cord blood infusions for children who have sustained a TBI and requires that they have access to their own cord blood for use in the treatment. Even cord blood from a close relative is not presently being used in this investigational therapy.(1)

There is also research interest in using other stem cell sources such as the patient’s own bone marrow to treat a TBI, but so far this research has also focused on children.(2)

Can a child’s cord blood be used for regenerative therapies to treat conditions such as a traumatic brain injury, juvenile diabetes or cerebral palsy in a sibling or a parent?
A child’s own cord blood stem cells are currently required for participation in the regenerative medicine clinical trials in the U.S. The transplantation of cord blood from one person to another—even close relatives—can be associated with health complications that might potentially outweigh the benefit of the transplant. Because of these complications, at present, the transplantation of cord blood from one person to another is generally reserved for the treatment of life-threatening conditions like leukemias and lymphomas.

Can cord blood stem cells be used to treat solid tumors such as brain tumors, lung cancers, etc.?
Stem cell transplant is currently being investigated as part of the treatment of solid tumors, but these therapies are still experimental and mostly used for severe cases of cancer.(3) There are currently a number of ongoing clinical trials investigating the use of stem cells for solid tumors but the majority are using the patient’s own stem cells from the bone marrow or the peripheral (circulating) blood.  Although cord blood stem cells from donors are beginning to be investigated as part of the treatment for solid tumors as well.(4-7)

Usually in the treatment of solid tumors, physicians will administer radiation and chemotherapy to cancer patients at levels that will kill the tumor tissue without destroying the blood and immune system. However, the aim of including stem cells in the treatment plan is to allow the treating physicians to administer higher doses of radiation and chemotherapy in cases where the tumor tissue is not very responsive to treatment or where it has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body). This therapy may destroy the tumor and subsequently the blood and immune system, which is then reconstituted with stem cells (much like in a stem cell transplant to treat leukemias and lymphomas). There is also evidence that the transplanted stem cells may have an anti-tumor effect themselves.(8)

References:
1-Safety Study of Umbilical Cord Blood To Treat Pediatric Traumatic Brian; UTHealth. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01251003.
2-Cox CS Jr, Baumgartner JE, Harting MT, at al. Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cell Therapy for Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Children. Neurosurgery. 2011; 68(3):588-600.
3- Ljungman P, Bregni M, Brune M, Cornelissen J, de Witte T, Dini G, Einsele H, Gaspar HB, Gratwohl A, Passweg J, Peters C, Rocha V, Saccardi R, Schouten H, Sureda A, Tichelli A, Velardi A, Niederwieser D; European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Allogeneic and autologous transplantation for haematological diseases, solid tumours and immune disorders: current practice in Europe 2009. Bone Marrow Transplantation. 2010;45(2):219-34.
4-Donor Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Young Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Solid Tumors. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00112645.
5-Busulfan, Melphalan, and Antithymocyte Globulin Followed By Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant in Treating Young Patients With Refractory or Relapsed Malignant Solid Tumors. . ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00436761.
6-Total Body Irradiation With Fludarabine Followed by Combined Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) Transplants. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00606437
7-Umbilical Cord Blood for Stem Cell Transplantation in Treating Young Patients With Malignant or Nonmalignant Diseases. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00084695
8- Secondino S, Pedrazzoli P, Schiavetto I, Basilico V, Bramerio E, Massimino M, Gambacorta M, Siena S. Antitumor effect of allogeneic hematopoietic SCT in metastatic medulloblastoma. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2008;42(2):131-3.