Potential of Unengineered and Engineered Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Cancer Inhibitor Agent

Cancer is one the most common life-threatening diseases. Cancer cases worldwide are forecast to rise by 75% in the future. Although cancer therapies have been improved, many tumors remain unresponsive to conventional treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy. Therefore, novel strategies in treating and managing the disease are urgently needed. Wharton's Jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) have recently been shown to possess anti-cancer activities as well as tumor-homing ability. These cells are able to migrate to sites of neoplastic growth in vivo and their secretory products display tumoricidal activity both in vitro and in vivo models of human cancer. Recent reports also suggest that the anti-cancer potential of WJ-MSCs can also be enhanced through genetic engineering. This review will summarize the current understanding on the interactions between WJ-MSCs and tumor cells, as well as the potential use of both un-engineered and engineered WJ-MSCs as an anti-cancer agent.