Japanese breakthrough shows promise for breast cancer sufferers
Women suffering from breast cancer face the prospect of being able to grow their own breast tissue in a procedure pioneered by Japanese scientists.
MRI scan of a woman with breast cancer. As many as one in five women in the UK currently requires a second operation after undergoing breast conserving surgery
By By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo and Rebecca Hartmann
5:50PM GMT 22 Mar 2013
Research teams have successful managed to replace tissue that was lost by breast cancer patients during surgery by mixing fat from other parts of their bodies with their own stem cells.
Previous attempts to regenerate breast tissue in patients involved the use of fat alone had a success rate of only 30 per cent as the cells were swiftly reabsorbed into the body in most cases.
However, the addition of stem cell technology resulted in a success rate of 70 to 90 per cent, due to the creation of new blood vessels which were able to support the new tissue.
Stem cells. the addition of stem cell technology resulted in a success rate of 70 to 90 per cent
The small-scale study, led by Bin Nakayama, an associate professor at Tottori University, focused on women who required breast augmentation surgery rather than complete reconstruction.
The new technique was tested on five women aged between 30 and 60 recovering from breast cancer, using fat removed from their hip or abdomen areas mixed with their own stem cells.
After monitoring their health for one year, scientists reported the surgery a success for each of the women, with no cases of infection or cancer recurring, according to Professor Nakayama.
As many as one in five women in the UK currently requires a second operation after undergoing breast conserving surgery, according to a recent study of more than 55,000 NHS patients by the Royal College of Surgeons.
Widespread adoption of the technique could dramatically reduce the number of operations required by women following surgery to remove tumours or cancerous tissues in their breasts.
"The aim of this study was to test the safety of such a procedure," Professor Nakayama said. "It was a success. None of the patients suffered any infections or problems after their health was checked for a year.
"My wish is that within a year, we will be able to perform this procedure on patients in Japan. This will depend on new government rules surrounding the use of stem cell, which have not yet been established but will be decided later this year."
Breast cancer has been the most common form of cancer in the UK, with more than 49,000 people diagnosed with the disease in 2010, according to Cancer Research UK. Experts expressed hope the procedure could be adopted by the NHS.
Dr Rachel Greig, from the UK's leading breast cancer charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "This research looks exciting but at this very early stage, and since only five women took part in the study, it is difficult to determine the impact this procedure could have on breast cancer patients in the future. We will watch with interest to see how this develops."
Stem cell breast surgery is the focus of an increasing number of clinical trials, in relation to both cancer treatments and cosmetic procedures, although scientists have warned previously that years of safety studies are required.
