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Cancer stem cells: controversies in multiple myeloma

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Abstract

Increasing data suggest that the initiation, relapse, and progression of human cancers are driven by specific cell populations within an individual tumor. However, inconsistencies have emerged in precisely defining phenotypic markers that can reliably identify these “cancer stem cells” in nearly every human malignancy studied to date. Multiple myeloma, one of the first tumors postulated to be driven by a rare population of cancer stem cells, is no exception. Similar to other diseases, controversy surrounds the exact phenotype and biology of multiple myeloma cells with the capacity for clonogenic growth. Here, we review the studies that have led to these controversies and discuss potential reasons for these disparate findings. Moreover, we speculate how these inconsistencies may be resolved through studies by integrating advancements in both myeloma and stem cell biology.

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Acknowledgments

Supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants R01CA127574 and K23CA107040, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the International Myeloma Foundation, and the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research. William Matsui is a scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Conflicting interests

We have no conflicting interests related to this review article or the studies discussed in the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematologic Malignancies, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Sarah K. Brennan & William Matsui

  2. Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, CRB245, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, USA

    Sarah K. Brennan & William Matsui

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  1. Sarah K. Brennan
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Correspondence to William Matsui.

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Brennan, S.K., Matsui, W. Cancer stem cells: controversies in multiple myeloma. J Mol Med 87, 1079–1085 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-009-0531-7

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