The specific opportunity that has everyone excited is regeneration of damaged organs by growing new ones.

That’s a “half-full” kind of opportunity. Recently, researchers made a discovery of the “half-empty” kind that opens up a whole new possibility for StemCells Inc.

The New York Times reports that researchers are now persuaded that most cancers result from stem cells run amok. This helps explain why, in many cases, tumors regenerate when just a few cells survive therapeutic treatment.

It is only since 1997 that scientists have been able to identify stem cells within cancers. Now, they’ve been identified in both leukemia and solid cancer masses. In 2003, they were identified in breast cancers.

In a critical associated discovery, researchers discovered that very few cells within a tumor mass were actually capable of expanding the tumor. On the other hand, they determined that these cells either resembled or actually were stem cells.

These cells are very difficult to separate from a tumor mass, but have more recently been found in bone and brain cancer. Many researchers now believe that such cells are at the heart of all cancerous tumor formation.

It is not yet clear whether stem cells that become cancerous are victims of mutation, or whether the cells that are progenitors to stem cells become damaged and behave in an aberrant stem cell-like fashion.

Each stem cell can divide into a new stem cell and a progenitor cell. The progenitor cell can no longer divide but instead changes into the mature cell need for some specific purpose (for example, blood or skin).

Every organ maintains a small population of stem cells throughout its life. A curious fact that researchers have noted is that the population of stem cells in an organ tends to remain stable.

Now, researchers suspect that when this stability is lost, cancer can result. Cancer takes a long time to develop, yet is most prevalent in short-lived tissues such as skin.

If stem cells are the culprit, it would help to explain this paradox.

Scientists, such as Dr. Irving Weissman of Stanford University, are excited that this understanding may enable a new class of “supplemental” anti-cancer drugs. Such drugs would not be the primary line of attack against the cancer, but would basically finish the job by taking care of aberrant stem cells.

One challenge in such a therapy would be killing the aberrant stem cells without also killing the stem cells necessary for regeneration of an organ.

Pharmaceutical giant Genentech (DNA: NYSE) has invested in OncoMed, a company developing monoclonal antibodies against cancer stem cells. Meanwhile, STEM is sitting on a portfolio of patents, which may help in the identification of such stem cells and in sharpening the biochemical knives of treatment.

Should such patented methodologies prove to enable this new line of treatment, StemCells will enjoy handsome royalties from licensing.

It’s too soon to tell whether STEM will benefit significantly from this line of research or not. However, this is an excellent example of the fact that transformational technologies companies can enjoy major windfalls when unexpected new uses for their technologies appear.

To your profitable future,
Jonathan Kolber
June 6, 2007

Investing in Stem Cell Technology was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.