FDA Approves First Human Trials With Embryonic Stem Cells

The FDA’s approval of these first human clinical trials with Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC) signals hope for sufferers of a variety of disorders and diseases, including lymphomas, but it doesn’t tell the whole story, as some experts such as scientist Christian Drapeau believe that Adult Stem Cells (ASC) offer “greater potential with less risk” than ESCs.

Various experts have been debating the merits of ASCs and ESCs for a long time now, but one aspect of the FDA’s announcement can’t be overlooked: Less than 5% of adult cancer patients take part in clinical trials in the United States. If any clinical trial at all is going to be effective, it needs participants.

For this reason, back in October of 2007 the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute got together and launched the Clinical Trial Center for Hematologic Malignancies. The goal of the Center is to make participation in important clinical trials easier by overcoming common obstacles such as patient reluctance and difficult travel requirements.

For more information, either:

Call the Taussig Institute’s Cancer Answer Line at (866) 223-8100, or
Go to the Taussig Institute’s home page at http://cms.clevelandclinic.org/cancer/