A four-year-old girl has become the first person in Spain to recover from brain cancer with the aid of stem cells from her own umbilical cord blood, reports the Catholic News Agency.
The girl developed a rare form of brain cancer aged two, and an operation removed the majority of the tumour from her brain. She then underwent chemotherapy effectively reducing and eventually eliminating what was left of the tumour.
However, her blood system was destroyed by the aggressive final round of chemotherapy, thus requiring a transplant of cord blood stem cells. The stem cells assisted in accelerating the production of platelets, and restored her blood system to normal.
The procedure was carried out in by Dr. Luis Madero of the Department of Oncology and Hematology at the Nino Jesus Hospital in Madrid, who called her case unique in Spain.
“The use of stem cells to regenerate the blood system is an extended treatment for this form of cancer,” he said, before adding this was “the first time in our country, the stem cells came from a patient’s own umbilical cord, preserved from birth.”
“In recent years, transplants of cord blood stem cells have become increasingly common. In the case of siblings, these stem cells are the best therapeutic option that exists,” he added.
The little girl’s parents had stored the blood from her umbilical cord with a company called Crio-Cord and called it the “best investment” they ever made.
Guillermo Munoz, the head of Crio-Cord, said his organisation was “proud to have participated in Alba’s healing process.”
Munoz also said that cases like these confirm “that umbilical cord blood is an excellent source of stem cells. Being the youngest cells of their kind in the human body, they have great potential to cure.”
(Image taken from the site www.stemcellumbilicalcordblood.com).