A research institute to be established in spring will attempt to regenerate the breast tissue of mastectomy patients from their own stem cells, sources said.
Kyushu University and Osaka University will join hands with other national universities and medical institutions to establish the institute to help breast cancer patients, with clinical tests scheduled to begin by March next year.
The institute hopes to devise a treatment that will gain government approval and be covered by health insurance, according to the sources.
Currently, the most common methods of breast reconstruction are silicon injections and fat implants. However, silicon injections pose a risk of infection, and fat implants are only a short-term solution as the implanted fat is gradually absorbed by the body.
In addition, neither of these treatments are covered by health insurance.
Under the envisaged stem-cell treatment, 200 to 400 milliliters of fat will be removed from a patient's abdomen. From the fat, researchers will extract cell groups containing a large number of stem cells and culture them.
The patient receives a course of 30 to 40 subcutaneous injections in the breast area, each containing two to three cubic centimeters of cell groups. If the cell groups settle successfully, the breast will be restored, according to researchers involved.
