Medical

cancer stem cells

cancer stem cells

The small minority of malignant tissue cells capable of giving rise to new lines of cancer cells. Like other stem cells, cancer stem cells are self-renewing with an indefinite life span and a great capacity for cell production. When they divide, some retain the undifferentiated stem cell characteristics while the great majority of their offspring become ordinary cancer cell lines capable of dying off. Cancer stem cell longevity explains why cancers can recur many years after apparent cure. It appears that for cancer treatments to be completely successful they must target cancer stem cells.
Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005
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References in periodicals archive
M2 PRESSWIRE-September 2, 2019-: Cancer Stem Cells Market to Grow at $1.6 Billion by 2025 | Key Industry Players - Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.; AbbVie, Inc.; Merck KGaA; Bionomics; and Lonza
"There is a lot of variability and some of the cells, like cancer stem cells, are much nastier.
Singapore, Singapore, May 30, 2019 --(PR.com)-- In a landmark study, scientists at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) and oncologists at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), have discovered that cancer stem cells, the founder cells of a tumour, have unique nutrient requirements.
Until now, researchers have assumed that the growth of solid tumors originates from cancer stem cells characterized by specific surface markers, which develop in a fixed, hierarchical order.
Making up just 0.2 per cent of the total population, the most dynamic cancer stem cells had special characteristics and significantly higherthan-average energy levels.
When cancer stem cells, however, switch from metabolizing sugar to metabolizing protein, they become vulnerable to destruction by the drug venetoclax, recently tested in a clinical trial.
Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital reported that this therapy boosts cancer stem cells that are believed to drive tumors.
The research, published in Oncotarget, is the first evidence that vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can be used to target and kill cancer stem cells (CSCs), the cells responsible for fueling fatal tumors.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells with self-renewal and differentiation potential.
EMP2 is implicated as an oncoprotein in cancer biology and in addition to its overexpression associated with tumor-promoting activities in various tumor types, it has been shown to play a role in signaling migration and invasion of cancer stem cells.
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