some cancer are graded no be non accessible and few times asymptomatic ,the cell be be metastasizing in blood and ,this person may be volunteer donor ,can these cells be incidentally transfuse leading to cancer in others ?
Hi George
In theory, yes it is possible to transfuse circulating tumour cells through blood transfusion provided that the unit is not leucodepleted. Leucodepletion can remove these cells because of their size and their adhesive properties (will stick to the fibres in blood filters). After all, the condition of Transfusion Associated Graft Vs Host Disease (TAGVHD) is caused by viable lymphocytes from the donor blood entering recipient's circulation and evoking a GVHD like response. That said the question whether these tumour cells will reimplant in the recipient's body and cause cancers is a different matter. It will very much depend on the survival of these cells (cancer) in the standard blood storage conditions and the recipient's innate anti-tumour surveillance. We did an in-vitro experiment a while ago. We studied the viability of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells in stored blood. It was interesting that a significant proportion of the CLL cells were viable after storage in SAGM medium at 4C. Of course, CLL cells are different to solid tumour cells.
Best wishes
Siva
Dear it is not wise to transfuse such cells as you said they are metastatic cells
For a cancer (solid tumour) to spread, definitely it is at stages 3 and above and such never found in asymptomatic individuals. Certainly, tumour cells metastasize through the blood and lymphatic systems and there is possibility to transfuse them, but ask me, I would say that the two instances put together are possibly theoretical. In clinical practice, a malignant growth up to that stage will never leave an individual health-wisely free to be settled for transfusion and thus can never be symptom-less.
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