Growing Trachea Tissue to Transplant Windpipes
Doctors in Italy announced they have used patients’ own stem cells to grow trachea tissue that led to seemingly successful transplanted windpipes
in 2 patients diagnosed with trachea cancer. Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, professor of surgery at the University of Barcelona in Spain and the head surgeon in the cases regenerated tissue from the patients’ nose and bone marrow stem cells to create tracheas biologically identical to the patients’ original organs.
- Both patients underwent the transplant in early July and were released from the hospital just weeks after the surgery.
The new windpipe was transplanted with tissue grown from their stem cells and did not need to administer anti-rejection drugs as published in the Lancet.
- Trachea cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation and attempts to replace the trachea with mechanical devices have not been effective;
- However, Dr. Eric Lambright, surgical director of lung transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said that using a patient’s own stem cells not only could help to rebuild the fragile tissue, but also potentially could bypass the risk of having the organ rejected.
Stem cells were transplanted from the patients’ nose and bone marrow then grew 2 different types of tissues from the cells that resembled the different surfaces of the trachea. The tissues covered the outer and inner linings of the donor trachea.
- This is not the first trachea transplant of its kind. In 2008, the surgical team successfully performed a trachea transplant using adult stem cells on a woman who suffered from tuberculosis.
The Bottom Line: While the procedure seemed to have worked in a few patients, many experts said the method is still in the earliest stages of development. This is a research project and not a proven therapy. There’s an important step from innovative therapy to the research needed to bring the innovative therapy to a large number of people. While transplants were successful, many experts say the technique is NOT yet a proven therapy.
