Cancer Stem Cells: New Proof of the “Queen Bee” Behind Tumor Cells Cancer is a tricky beast. Even if a tumor is detected early, if the drugs, radiation or surgery don’t kill every single cell that’s become cancerous, it can come back stronger than ever. One of the theories behind this is that tumors contain a subset of stem cells. Just like the stem cells that are present in embryos and the ones we use for medical technologies, cancer stem cells are thought to “feed” the rest of the tumor by dividing indefinitely. They are a constant source of new, deadly cells, and cancer therapies often miss them. A bunch of new studies are making this “cancer stem cell” theory sound a bit more certain. Several experiments recently tracked cancer cells in mice using fluorescent markers like you see above. By shrinking, attacking and seeding the tumors in different ways, they were all able to show that there is almost certainly a stem cell population in a tumor. When we attack cancer, we need to make sure we “get the queen” so to speak. If I get 99.9% of cells and leave these stem cells behind, your tumor could grow back stronger than ever. Of course, cancer isn’t even just one disease, and it’s rarely as simple as that. But the closer we get to the annihilating the origins of tumors and the factories that produce the out-of-control mutant cells, the stronger our cancer therapies will be. Remember, not every stem cell is a friendly one. (via Nature News)
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Cancer Stem Cells: New Proof of the “Queen Bee” Behind Tumor Cells

Cancer is a tricky beast. Even if a tumor is detected early, if the drugs, radiation or surgery don’t kill every single cell that’s become cancerous, it can come back stronger than ever. One of the theories behind this is that tumors contain a subset of stem cells. Just like the stem cells that are present in embryos and the ones we use for medical technologies, cancer stem cells are thought to “feed” the rest of the tumor by dividing indefinitely. They are a constant source of new, deadly cells, and cancer therapies often miss them.

A bunch of new studies are making this “cancer stem cell” theory sound a bit more certain. Several experiments recently tracked cancer cells in mice using fluorescent markers like you see above. By shrinking, attacking and seeding the tumors in different ways, they were all able to show that there is almost certainly a stem cell population in a tumor.

When we attack cancer, we need to make sure we “get the queen” so to speak. If I get 99.9% of cells and leave these stem cells behind, your tumor could grow back stronger than ever. Of course, cancer isn’t even just one disease, and it’s rarely as simple as that.

But the closer we get to the annihilating the origins of tumors and the factories that produce the out-of-control mutant cells, the stronger our cancer therapies will be. Remember, not every stem cell is a friendly one.

(via Nature News)

Source: nature.com

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