2023-12-18 18:18:22
Good news for cancer patients. Researchers at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital have found a more effective way to fight certain serious forms of leukemia.
Thanks to an association with Seattle researchers, scientists have identified a molecule, UM171, which makes it possible to amplify stem cells from umbilical cord blood in order to treat acute leukemia and myelodysplasia with a high risk of relapse. This molecule makes it possible to multiply up to 80 times the number of stem cells obtained in cord blood.
“It makes it possible to transplant patients with an optimal graft that has a lot of stem cells,” explains Dr. Denis-Claude Roy, director of the Cellular Therapy Institute at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.
“Before, we were not able to transplant adults. Now, people with large sizes, people who are adults, we are able to transplant them and obtain extremely interesting results,” he continues.
He specifies that doctors are now able to tackle aggressive leukemias while having survival rates of more than 70% following two years. This also helps reduce the time patients can develop infections or complications.
“These results are encouraging when we consider that 30% of the patients concerned had not obtained significant results following a first stem cell transplant which did not use the UM171 molecule,” specifies the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal by press release.
For Dr. Roy, the use of stem cells from umbilical cords is essential for people who do not have donors in their family and who are not compatible with the global stem cell donor bank.
“We offer them a chance of survival,” he emphasizes.
The laboratory currently produces cells for Quebec, Canada, the United States and soon Europe.
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