Most cancers are heterogeneous with respect to proliferation and differentiation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that only a minority of cancer cells, tumorigenic or tumor initiating cells, possess the capaci...Most cancers are heterogeneous with respect to proliferation and differentiation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that only a minority of cancer cells, tumorigenic or tumor initiating cells, possess the capacity to proliferate extensively and form new hematopoietic cancer or solid tumors. Tumor initiating cells share characteristics required for normal stem cells. The dysregulation of self-renewal and proliferation of stem cells is a likely requirement for cancer development. This review formulates a model for the origin of cancer stem cells and regulating self-renewal which influences the way we study and treat cancer.展开更多
文摘Most cancers are heterogeneous with respect to proliferation and differentiation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that only a minority of cancer cells, tumorigenic or tumor initiating cells, possess the capacity to proliferate extensively and form new hematopoietic cancer or solid tumors. Tumor initiating cells share characteristics required for normal stem cells. The dysregulation of self-renewal and proliferation of stem cells is a likely requirement for cancer development. This review formulates a model for the origin of cancer stem cells and regulating self-renewal which influences the way we study and treat cancer.