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Review
. 2005 Nov;5(11):899-904.
doi: 10.1038/nrc1740.

Opinion: the origin of the cancer stem cell: current controversies and new insights

Rolf Bjerkvig  1 , Berit B Tysnes, Karen S Aboody, Joseph Najbauer, A J A Terzis
Affiliations
Review

Opinion: the origin of the cancer stem cell: current controversies and new insights

Rolf Bjerkvig et al. Nat Rev Cancer. 2005 Nov.

Erratum in

  • Nat Rev Cancer. 2005 Dec;5(12):995

Abstract

Most tumours are derived from a single cell that is transformed into a cancer-initiating cell (cancer stem cell) that has the capacity to proliferate and form tumours in vivo. However, the origin of the cancer stem cell remains elusive. Interestingly, during development and tissue repair the fusion of genetic and cytoplasmic material between cells of different origins is an important physiological process. Such cell fusion and horizontal gene-transfer events have also been linked to several fundamental features of cancer and could be important in the development of the cancer stem cell.

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