| Literature DB >> 23548926 |
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been proposed as the driving force of tumorigenesis and the seeds of metastases. However, their existence and role remain a topic of intense debate. Recently, the identification of CSCs in endogenously developing mouse tumours has provided further support for this concept. Here I discuss the challenges in identifying CSCs, their dependency on a supportive niche and their role in metastasis, and propose that stemness is a flexible — rather than fixed — quality of tumour cells that can be lost and gained.Entities:
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Year: 2013 PMID： 23548926 DOI： 10.1038/ncb2717
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Nat Cell Biol ISSN： 1465-7392 Impact factor: 28.824