title: Stem cell-based therapies for cancer treatment: separating hope from hype.
abstract: Stem cell-based therapies are emerging as a promising strategy to tackle cancer. Multiple stem cell types have been shown to exhibit inherent tropism towards tumours. Moreover, when engineered to express therapeutic agents, these pathotropic delivery vehicles can effectively target sites of malignancy. This perspective considers the current status of stem cell-based treatments for cancer and provides a rationale for translating the most promising preclinical studies into the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurotherapy and Imaging Laboratory and the Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Stuckey
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurotherapy and Imaging Laboratory and the Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA; and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D050130:Oncolytic Virotherapy; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers