Abstract
Our contemporary understanding of cancer biology is based on the stem cell hypothesis. This framework explains regression of premalignant lesions, radiation and drug resistant tumor cell subsets, relapse after complete therapeutic response, clonal similarity of metastatic implants and stromal requirements for cancer cultivation. The stem cell hypothesis also brings with it a new paradigm for cancer treatment. New therapies will increasingly target stem cell specific surface molecules, oncoproteins, regulation pathway elements, resistance mediators and stromal niche support factors. As our understanding of stem cell markers expands for various tumor subclasses, this knowledge of cancer stem cell biology and clinical significance will lead to more effective and safer treatments for human cancers.
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Cheng, L., Zhang, S., Davidson, D.D., Montironi, R., Lopez-Beltran, A. (2009). Implications of Cancer Stem Cells for Cancer Therapy. In: Teicher, B., Bagley, R. (eds) Stem Cells and Cancer. Cancer Drug Discovery and Development. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-933-8_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-933-8_20
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