I wonder if this could be promising to pancreatic cancer patients as well?
Also for diabetics given it is the pancreas that produces insulin to self-control blood sugar naturally.
I was wondering that as well. But I’m not sure if pancreatic cancer is normally diagnosed before it has begun to spread elsewhere, or if cancer-free cells could be reliable harvested from a pancreas with sufficient cancer to have been diagnosable.
I also wonder if it could be used for Type I diabetics. That’s an autoimmune condition, so the body’s immune system is attacking its own islet cells, but I wonder if it would still attack them if they were located in the liver. If it’s possible to isolate some of these cells from a part of the pancreas while leaving the organ still functional, and transplant them to the liver, it should be possible to test the feasibility of this without destroying the patient’s pancreas (which is important for other things besides producing insulin).
It wouldn’t work for Type II diabetics, whose chief problem is insulin resistance rather than lack of normal insulin production. And of Type II, induced by overeating, is by far the most common type of diabetes in the developed world.
I’m thinking the same thing. Wouldn’t that be great?
Probably not. Pancreatic cancer isn’t usually diagnosed until it’s spread, and by then, it’s too late.