癌干细胞研究现状

Progress of the research on cancer stem cells

干细胞具有自我更新和分化功能,赋予机体在生命过程中始终保持造血潜能。近来研究显示,某些癌细胞群体如血液系统肿瘤、乳腺肿瘤与脑肿瘤等,也存在能自我更新和分化增殖的干细胞,即癌干细胞(CSC)。这些CSC便是肿瘤生长蔓延、死灰复燃的主要原因。这些发现拓宽了肿瘤学研究的视野,对我们进一步理解肿瘤细胞和CSC生物学特性提供了有益的启示。推测在其它肿瘤中也会存在这种CSC,因此对于CSC生物学特性的深入研究及阐明它们在介导肿瘤发生中的作用机制,对今后肿瘤防治将起到巨大的推动作用。

Recent advances in stem cell research have demonstrated the existence of cancer stem cells(CSC) in the cancers of the hematopoietic system, breast and brain, which are a minor population of tumor cells that possess the stem cell property of self-renewal. Furthermore stem cells are likely implicated in other malignancies. Perhaps CSC is the very reason that many cancers are rekindled after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This observation has broad ramifications in the cancer research field and is likely to impact our understanding of the basic mechanism of tumor formation and the strategies we use to treat cancers.