Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba and Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9, Canada.
Breast Cancer Res. 2010;12(6):316. doi: 10.1186/bcr2764. Epub 2010 Dec 16.
Recent evidence suggests that a rare-cell population with a stem cell phenotype maintains breast tumors. Therefore, to devise breast cancer therapies that are more effective, we need to understand the unique biology of these cancer stem cells. Currently, very little is known about the origin of cancer stem cells and their relationship to the tumor phenotype. A recent study from Smalley's group demonstrates that targeting an inactivating Brca1 mutation to the luminal progenitors could yield basal-like breast cancers. This observation suggests that the inherent plasticity of the primitive cells can be hijacked by the tumorigenic processes to produce tumors with an unpredictable phenotype.
最近的证据表明，具有干细胞表型的稀有细胞群维持着乳腺癌。因此，为了设计更有效的乳腺癌治疗方法，我们需要了解这些癌症干细胞的独特生物学特性。目前，对于癌症干细胞的起源及其与肿瘤表型的关系知之甚少。斯莫利（Smalley）小组的一项最新研究表明，将失活的 Brca1 突变靶向到腔前体细胞上，可能会产生基底样乳腺癌。这一观察结果表明，原始细胞的固有可塑性可以被肿瘤发生过程劫持，产生具有不可预测表型的肿瘤。
