Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Prospects for Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. To a significant extent, current conventional cancer therapies are symptomatic and passive in nature. The major obstacle for the development of effective cancer therapy is believed to be the lack of sufficient specificity. Since the discovery of tumor-oriented homing capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the application of specific anticancer gene-engineered MSCs has held great potential for cancer therapies. The MSC-based multiple-targeted anticancer strategy is based on MSCs’ capacity of tumor-directed migration and incorporation and in situ expression of tumor-specific anticancer genes. Aimed at translating the benchwork to meaningful clinical applications, we will describe MSCs’ tumor tropism and their use as therapeutic vehicles, the multiple-targeted anticancer potential of engineered MSCs and a personalized strategy for cancer therapy.