Whats a cancer stem cell?
“The descriptions of a cancer stem cell are as diverse as the labs working in this field,” says Whitehead visiting scientist Tan Ince. In the strictest sense, a cancer stem cell is a rare undifferentiated tumor cell that’s uniquely capable of renewing itself and seeding new tumors. Under this interpretation, cancer stem cells drive tumor growth (by giving rise to the differentiated cells that form the bulk of the tumor) and initiate metastasis. They also resist conventional radiation and chemotherapy, which could explain why many tumors relapse after treatment. Many scientists suspect that cancer stem cells come from normal adult stem cells, though this remains unproven. Cancer stem cells remained hidden for decades because scientists couldn’t distinguish them from their descendants. Advances in cell sorting techniques and detailed characterizations of adult stem cells finally made it possible to isolate cancer stem cells from tumors. But few labs possess the expertise, equipment or pa
