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. 2013 Apr;15(4):338-44.
doi: 10.1038/ncb2717.

Cancer stem cells: the challenges ahead

Jan Paul Medema  1
Affiliations

Cancer stem cells: the challenges ahead

Jan Paul Medema. Nat Cell Biol. 2013 Apr.

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.

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