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Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells, Volume 1 pp 129–139Cite as

Cancer Stem Cells in Medulloblastoma

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Part of the book series: Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells ((STEM,volume 1))

Abstract

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children. It is composed of small round undifferentiated, proliferating embryonal cells with the ablility to undergo neuronal differentiation and metastasize within the central nervous system (CNS). The stem-like appearance of medulloblastoma cells and accumulated evidence from both human primary tumors and mouse transgenic models support the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, i.e. CSCs are the origin of cancer and are required for tumor ongoing growth, although CSCs do not necessarily always come from normal stem cells as they may originate from progenitor cells or differentiated tumor cells which gain stem cell properties due to genetic or epigenetic changes. Dysregulation of signaling pathways, such as Hedgehog, Wnt, and Notch that regulate normal stem cell development, may contribute to medulloblastoma CSC formation or tumor initiation and propagation. Correction of the dysregulation in these signaling pathways may target medulloblastoma CSCs and eliminate tumor cells completely. This strategy may have clinical therapeutic relevance not only to medulloblastoma, but also to other types of cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, BSRB 5018, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Xing Fan

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  1. Xing Fan
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Correspondence to Xing Fan .

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  1. , Kean University, Room 213, Library building, Morris Avenue 1000, Union, 07083, New Jersey, USA

    M.A. Hayat

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Fan, X. (2012). Cancer Stem Cells in Medulloblastoma. In: Hayat, M. (eds) Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells, Volume 1. Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1709-1_16

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