Insights

JULY 15, 2008

Stem Cells and Cancer: New Frontiers

Hanna Mikkola, MD, PhD

There has been a lot of talk in the media about stem cells as having potential curing powers for all types of disease. This is particularly important in the area of cancer and there is an ongoing amount of research being done. This talk explains, in language that can be understood by everyone, what we know about stem cells and their role in the anti-cancer fight. We know that blood forming, or hematopoietic, stem cells (HSC) have been used successfully for decades to treat leukemia patients. Lifelong cure is possible, as transplanted blood stem cells are used to replace diseased stem cells. These new stem cells have the ability to 'self-renew', --- to generate identical copies of themselves and then differentiate into all blood cell types needed by the body in response to the body's normal physiological cues. Since there are not enough matching stem cells for all patients, and so far it has not been possible to expand them in culture without losing their unique ability to self-renew, research is evaluating how to resolve this problem. Recent studies indicate that cancer is a stem cell disease because cancer cells also have the ability to self-renew, yet their self-renewal ability is 'illegal' and is not regulated by the body's needs. This talk provides an overview of this research and discusses the new frontiers for cancer therapy in relation to what we are learning about stem cells.

Hanna Mikkola, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, and Member of The Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. Dr. Mikkolas' research focuses on regulation of blood forming stem cells to understand the pathogenesis of leukemia and improve its cure. She has published over 30 professional research papers on blood diseases and blood development. In 2005 she was awarded the Martha Austin Research Award from the Stop Cancer Foundation, and in 2006 the American Society of Hematology Scholar Award and V-Foundation for Cancer Scholar Award. In addition to research, Dr. Mikkola is actively involved in undergraduate and graduate student education at UCLA and teaches about stem cell biology.