Reconstructing Breast Tissue Experiment

Reconstructing Breast Tissue Experiment

A story in the Telegraph in the UK reports that stem cells derived from fat have been implanted into three women who had partial mastectomies in an attempt to regenerate the tissue. (The story is by-lined but I suspected it is only partially adapted, if at all, from a press release.) A total of 20 women will take part in the trial, which is being conducted in Japan. Stem cells are derived from the women’s fat and implanted in the breast tissue after surgery, along with other fatty tissue to replace the removed tissue. In animal studies, animals that received the stem cells had a significantly greater weight retention than those that did not.

This is interesting. It make me think of a potential downside to stem cell research—if this works, how long is it before we get stem-cell based breast enlargements? The all natural way to a bigger boob! Scary thought.