Cancer stem cell
hideCancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells (found within tumors or hematological cancers) that possess characteristics associated with normal stem cells, specifically the ability to give rise to all cell types found in a particular cancer sample. These cells are therefore tumorigenic (tumor-forming), perhaps in contrast to other non-tumorigenic cancer cells. CSCs may generate tumors through the stem cell processes of self-renewal and differentiation into multiple cell types. Such cells are proposed to persist in tumors as a distinct population and cause relapse and metastasis by giving rise to new tumors. Therefore, development of specific therapies targeted at CSCs holds hope for improvement of survival and quality of life of cancer patients, especially for sufferers of metastatic disease.
Existing cancer treatments were mostly developed on animal models, where therapies able to promote tumor shrinkage were deemed effective. However, animals could not provide a complete model of human disease. In particular, in mice, whose life spans do not exceed two years, tumor relapse is exceptionally difficult to study.
The efficacy of cancer treatments are, in the initial stages of testing, often measured by the fraction of tumor mass they kill off (fractional kill). As CSCs would form a very small proportion of the tumor, this may not necessarily select for drugs that act specifically on the stem cells. The theory suggests that conventional chemotherapies kill differentiated or differentiating cells, which form the bulk of the tumor but are unable to generate new cells. A population of CSCs, which gave rise to it, could remain untouched and cause a relapse of the disease.
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News tagged with cancer stem
Australian bid to 'regrow' breasts after cancer surgery
Nov 12, 2009 |
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Australian scientists said Thursday they were to trial a revolutionary treatment which would allow women to regrow their breasts after cancer surgery.
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Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling ...
Tumor-initiating Cells Detected in Pten Null Prostate Cancer Model
Nov 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New findings published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, advance the current understanding of the role of stem/progenitor cells on the initiation and progression of pro ...
Embryonic stem cell therapy closer to human trials
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials.
Scientists reveal how induced pluripotent stem cells differ from embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research ...
Protecting the future: How plant stem cells guard against genetic damage
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, have shown how plants can protect themselves against genetic damage caused by environmental stresses. The growing tips of plant roots and shoots have an ...
Researchers find two units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
Nov 13, 2009 |
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A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease ...
Physician-scientist proves stem cells heal lungs of newborn animals
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Dr. Bernard Thébaud lives in two very different worlds. As a specialist in the Stollery Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, he cares for tiny babies, many of whom struggle ...
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
Nov 05, 2009 |
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For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat ...
Study shows neural stem cells in mice affected by gene associated with longevity
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A gene associated with longevity in roundworms and humans has been shown to affect the function of stem cells that generate new neurons in the adult brain, according to researchers at the Stanford University ...
Possible origins of pancreatic cancer revealed
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- MIT cancer biologists have identified a subpopulation of cells that can give rise to pancreatic cancer. They also found that tumors can form in other, more mature pancreatic cell types, but ...
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