City of Hope neurosurgeons Rahul Jandial, M.D., Ph.D., and Mike Y. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., were awarded a two-year, $750,000 grant to research stem cells to help rebuild the spine after removing destructive spinal tumors.
 Mike Chen (Photo by p.cunningham) |
Chen and Jandial co-direct the institution’s spinal cancer program. The research grant is sponsored by NuVasive Inc., a San Diego-based medical device company focused on spinal disorders.
Cancer rarely originates within the spine on its own; most spinal tumors come from breast, lung or prostate cancers that have metastasized from their original tumor sites.
Yet the spine is one of the most common locations for cancer to spread. One in four cancer patients will have a tumor that metastasizes to the spinal column and threatens or causes spinal cord injury, as well as excruciating pain. To treat this condition, surgeons often resect the tumor and remove the surrounding bone from the spinal column.
Spinal reconstruction after tumor removal is complex, requiring a combination of metal devices, bone cement and bone grafts to stabilize the back. Jandial and Chen are searching for better answers.
“We are taking the fundamentals of stem cell biology and extending them to regenerative medicine for reconstructing the spinal column,” said Jandial, assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Neurosurgery.
 Rahul Jandial (Courtesy of Rahul Jandial) |
Chen, assistant professor of surgery, noted that patients with cancer are living longer and physicians must consider how to keep them active and protect quality of life. As survival increases, he said, “we want to be the leading edge in medical, scientific and surgical innovation for keeping our patients free of suffering and as highly functional as possible.
“Current spinal reconstruction depends on metal devices to retrofit the spinal column, but we’re interested in finding methods to induce natural bone growth for repairs. These stem cells will not only help regenerate bone, but will hopefully in the near future also deliver therapeutics that can kill tumors at the same time.”
Through the grant, Jandial and Chen are evaluating adult mesenchymal stem cells, which can differentiate into bone, cartilage and fat cells, for their potential to express bone-promoting proteins. Scientists hope to create a therapy that will encourage diseased areas of the spine to regenerate healthy tissue. New, disease-free bone cells would grow on the scaffold of the spine much like vines growing on a trellis.
The pair’s research will focus on molecular and cellular basic science investigations in the laboratory, intending to ultimately benefit spinal cancer patients who need extensive tumor removal followed by a durable repair to keep them independent and free from neurological injury.
The project grew from the multidisciplinary nature of City of Hope’s spinal cancer program. The program draws from diverse research and treatment expertise within surgery, neuroradiology and other specialties, as well as basic science.
