Stanford study finds new method improves chemotherapy surviv...( fection? Why don't we try to prevent it...),Health

Brown's group sought to circumvent the problem by adding more of one type of cell-the myeloid progenitor. This cell can follow several routes of development. They can turn into red blood cells, platelets or neutrophils. Using the progenitor cells seems to be more effective than using mature neutrophils, the researchers said.

The researchers gave a single dose of the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil to mice, and the next day gave some of the mice an infusion of purified myeloid progenitor cells. They then exposed all of the mice to a fungus that had killed a chemotherapy patient.

One week later, researchers found that the mice treated with the cellular boost had significantly more neutrophils in their spleens, blood and bone marrow than the ones that had not received the infusion. More than half of the treated mice survived, while only a third of the ones without it did.

The study follows on the heels of earlier work by Brown and her team on the effectiveness of this strategy following radiation treatment. That earlier research also showed that the use of myeloid progenitors improved the ability of the mice to survive exposure to a fungus as well as a bacterial infection.

Brown's group is now looking at combining cellular infusion with clinical strategies of using antifungals or growth factors to stimulate increases in neutrophil numbers. So far in animal studies, she said, it looks like the therapies merge well and will add together for more effective protection.

Brown noted that the use of the myeloid progenitor cells may be preferential to using mature neutrophils for at least two reasons. First, the myeloid progenitors give rise to a broader spectrum of cells, including platelets and red blood cells, which is helpful in restoring normal blood functions. And second, the myeloid progenitors can survive freezing and th
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Contact: Mitzi Baker
mitzibaker@stanford.edu
650-725-2106
Stanford University Medical Center
14-Dec-2004