Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the approval of the first 13* human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines for use in NIH-funded research.  Children’s Hospital in Boston developed 11 of the approved lines and Rockefeller University in New York City developed two additional lines.

All of the approved lines were obtained from embryos left over by couples seeking treatment for infertility who consented to their use for research under the NIH’s Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research. Read the rest of this entry »

Briefly: In research this week, human embryonic stem cells produced an immune response in mice with colon cancer, and discussing strong pain medicines with cancer patients reduces their pain by about 20 percent.

The Food and Drug Administration has found many dietary supplements contaminated with prescription drugs not listed on the label, some at several times higher than the recommended dose.  In other FDA news, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals was unable to get FDA approval for use of Fusilev® for metastatic colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking into the future, I have no doubt that we will use colon cancer stem cells to find more effective therapies for colon cancer patients and develop novel chemoprevention strategies.

I am collaborating with a basic scientist, Michael Kahn, from the USC Stem Cell Institute. He moved from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center to USC to develop novel strategies for cancer stem cells. As many of you know, California will spend over $3 billion over the next 10 years on stem cell research. I have no doubt in my mind that California will be the world leader in a couple of of years in stem cell research and the development of new therapies for a lot of different disorders including cancer. Read the rest of this entry »