Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7 Conclusion
Over the last several years, the cancer stem cell theory has gone from mere
speculation to a highly evidenced working model of tumorigenesis. Regardless
of whether these CSCs come from adult stem cells or progenitors, it is clear that
they have a role in initial tumor formation and in metastasis. Understanding
CSCs on a molecular, tissue, and organism level is crucial to understanding the
true nature of cancer. Starting with better diagnostics based on CSC markers
and eventually targeting drugs to pCSCs and mCSCs will undoubtedly result in
improved prevention and treatment of many types of cancer.
References
Abraham, B., Fritz, P., McClellan, M., et al. 2005. Prevalence of CD44+/CS24-/low cells in
breast cancer may not be associated with clinical outcome but may favor distant metas-
tasis. Clinical Cancer Research 11: 1154-1159.
Adams, G., Chabner, K., Alley, I., et al. 2006. Stem cell engraftment at the endosteal niche is
specified by the calcium-sensing receptor. Nature 439: 599-603.
Al-Hajj, M., Wicha, M., Benito-Hernandez, A., Morrison, S., and Clarke, M. 2003. Prospec-
tive identification of tumorigenic breast cancer cells. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Science USA 100: 3983-3988.
Bachoo, R., Maher, E., Ligon, K., Sharpless, N., Chan, S., et al. 2002. Epidermal growth
factor receptor and Ink4a/Arf: convergent mechanisms governing terminal differentia-
tion and transformation along the neural stem cell to astrocyte axis. Cancer Cell
1: 269-277.
Balic, M., Lin, H., Young, L., et al. 2006. Most early disseminated cancer cells detected in
bone marrow of breast cancer patients have a putative breast cancer stem cell phenotype.
Clinical Cancer Research 12: 5615-5621.
Bao, S., Wu, Q., McLendon, R., Hao, Y., Shi, Q., et al. 2006a. Glioma stem cells promote
radioresistance by preferential activation of the DNA damage response. Nature 444:
756-760.
Bao, S., Wu, Q., Sathornumetee, S., Hao, Y., Li, Z., et al. 2006b. Stem cell-like glioma cells
promote tumor angiogenesis through vascular endothelial factor. Cancer Research 66:
7843-7848.
Barnhart, B. and Simon, M. 2007. Metastasis and stem cell pathways. Cancer Metastasis
Review 26: 261-271.
Bernards, R. and Weinberg, R.A. 2002. A progression puzzle. Nature 418 (6900): 823.
Brabletz, T., Jung, A., Reu, S., et al. 2001. Variable B-catenin expression in colorectal cancers
indicates tumor progression driven by the tumor environment. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science USA 98: 10356-10361.
Cairns, J. 2002. Somatic stem cells and the kinetics of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 99: 10567-10570.
Calvi, L., Adams, G., Weibrecht, K., et al. 2003. Osteoblastic cells regulate the haematopoie-
tic stem cell niche. Nature 425: 841-846.
Chambers, A.F., Groom, A.C., and MacDonald, I.C. 2002. Dissemination and growth of
cancer cells in metastatic sites. Nature Reviews 2 (8): 563-572.
Chen, L., Shen, R., Ye, Y., Pu, X., Liu, X., et al. 2007. Precancerous stem cells have the
potential for both benign and malignant differentiation. PLoS ONE 22: e293.
