Pigs cloned for fighting against cancer

South Korean scientists report successful cloning of genetically altered piglets producing a protein that would help in the fight against cancer.

Park Chang-Sik is a professor at Chungnam National University. He has reported that four female piglets capable of producing milk, containing Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were created by his team. GM-CSF is a growth factor that is used to stimulate the production of white cells.

GM-CSF is given to patients undergoing treatment for leukemia and cancer, undergoing chemotherapy to stimulate the bone marrow to produced white cells.

However GM-CSF is quite expensive which costs around 600,000 dollars per gram. This exorbitant cost is due to its limited production. Park has also stated that they were able to achieve cloning of piglets that produce milk with high level of GM-CSF, within the period of one year.

The team also said that in order to clone the piglets they followed the same method, which produced Dolly the sheep' which was the first cloned animal in the world. The piglets would be capable of reproducing and GM-CSF would also be carried in the bodies of their offspring.

Cancer terms:
Lumpectomy: This term refers to removal of lump from any part of the body, but with usage it has become synonymous with removal of breast lump. Lumpectomy and mastectomy are the common surgical options available for a patient with breast cancer. See section on surgical treatment of breast cancer for more details. See cancer terms for more cancer related terms.