Ashkenazi Rina, Jackson Trachette L, Dontu Gabriela, Wicha Max S
Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan, 530 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Stem Cell Rev. 2007 Jun;3(2):176-82. doi: 10.1007/s12015-007-0026-2.
There is increasing evidence for the "cancer stem cell hypothesis" which holds that cancers originate in tissue stem cells or progenitor cells. As a result of this, cancers are driven by a cellular subcomponent that retains stem cell properties. Among these properties are self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. The biological processes which account for stem cell properties are currently being elucidated. Cancer stem cells maintain many of the same characteristics of their normal counterparts. The combination of biological research with mathematical modeling may provide for a greater understanding of the complex picture of breast cancer stem cells and assist cancer biologists and clinical oncologists in designing and testing novel therapeutic strategies.
“癌症干细胞假说”的证据越来越多，该假说认为癌症起源于组织干细胞或祖细胞。因此，癌症是由具有干细胞特性的细胞亚成分驱动的。这些特性包括自我更新和多谱系分化。目前正在阐明导致干细胞特性的生物学过程。癌症干细胞保持着许多与其正常对应物相同的特征。生物学研究与数学建模相结合，可能有助于更深入地了解乳腺癌干细胞的复杂情况，并协助癌症生物学家和临床肿瘤学家设计和测试新的治疗策略。
