Tunici Patrizia, Irvin Dwain, Liu Gentao, Yuan Xiangpeng, Zhaohui Zeng, Ng Hiushan, Yu John S
Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, Los Angeles, California 90048, USA.
Neurosurg Focus. 2006 Apr 15;20(4):E27. doi: 10.3171/foc.2006.20.4.17.
The observation of similarities between the self-renewal mechanisms of stem cells and cancer cells has led to the new concept of the cancer stem cell. In cases of leukemia, multiple myeloma, and breast cancer, cells with a high selfrenewal potential have been identified. Furthermore, investigators have shown these cells' ability to drive the formation and growth of the tumor. Brain tumors have also been reported to possess a subpopulation of cancer stemlike cells that have the ability to proliferate, self-renew, and be multipotent. When grafted into mice, these cells are also able to generate a tumor that recapitulates that of the patient from whom the cells were derived. The identification and characterization of this new category of cells call for new therapies capable of selectively targeting and killing these multifaceted cells.
干细胞与癌细胞自我更新机制之间相似性的观察，催生了癌症干细胞这一新概念。在白血病、多发性骨髓瘤和乳腺癌病例中，已鉴定出具有高自我更新潜能的细胞。此外，研究人员还证明了这些细胞驱动肿瘤形成和生长的能力。据报道，脑肿瘤也拥有一群具有增殖、自我更新和多能性的癌症干细胞样细胞。将这些细胞移植到小鼠体内时，它们也能够产生与源自其的患者肿瘤相似的肿瘤。对这类新细胞的鉴定和表征需要能够选择性靶向并杀死这些多面细胞的新疗法。
