Editorial
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Nov 26, 2011; 3(11): 96-103
Published online Nov 26, 2011. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v3.i11.96
Mesenchymal stem cell-mediated cancer therapy: A dual-targeted strategy of personalized medicine
Xu-Yong Sun, Jiang Nong, Ke Qin, Garth L Warnock, Long-Jun Dai
Xu-Yong Sun, Jiang Nong, Ke Qin, Institute of Transplant Medicine, 303 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Nanning 530021, The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Garth L Warnock, Long-Jun Dai, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L8, Canada
Author contributions: Sun XY, Nong J, Qin K and Warnock GL wrote the manuscript; Dai LJ wrote and reviewed the manuscript.
Supported by Guangxi Ministry of Science and Technology, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (No. 1-2008-474), VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation
Correspondence to: Long-Jun Dai, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, 400-828 West 10 th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L8, Canada. ljdai@mail.ubc.ca
Telephone: +1-604-8754111-62501 Fax: +1-604-8754376
Received: July 12, 2011
Revised: October 23, 2011
Accepted: October 29, 2011
Published online: November 26, 2011
Abstract

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. To a significant extent, current conventional cancer therapies are symptomatic and passive in nature. The major obstacle to the development of effective cancer therapy is believed to be the absence of sufficient specificity. Since the discovery of the tumor-oriented homing capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the application of specific anticancer gene-engineered MSCs has held great potential for cancer therapies. The dual-targeted strategy is based on MSCs’ capacity of tumor-directed migration and incorporation and in situ expression of tumor-specific anticancer genes. With the aim of translating bench work into meaningful clinical applications, we describe the tumor tropism of MSCs and their use as therapeutic vehicles, the dual-targeted anticancer potential of engineered MSCs and a putative personalized strategy with anticancer gene-engineered MSCs.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Gene therapy; Cancer therapy; Cytotherapy