Williams J Lynne
Biomedical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester MI 48309, USA.
Clin Lab Sci. 2012 Winter;25(1):50-7.
The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis has had a major effect on the fields of cancer cell biology and clinical oncology. CSCs were originally described in hematologic malignancies, and subsequently in a variety of solid tumors. Their unique biological characteristics, including self-renewal capability, stem cell signaling pathways, relative quiescence and resistance to standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy are providing researchers and clinicians with new challenges. One important outcome of this new perspective on tumors is the recognition that effective treatment approaches will need to target both the rapidly proliferating bulk tumor cells, and the quiescent CSCs, which contain the ability to reestablish the malignancy when treatment is withdrawn. The clinical laboratory will undoubtedly see an influx of new molecular and histopathological tests to augment initial diagnosis, treatment decisions, and prognostic monitoring of cancer patients related to identifying and quantifying these as CSCs.
癌症干细胞（CSC）假说对癌细胞生物学和临床肿瘤学领域产生了重大影响。CSC最初是在血液系统恶性肿瘤中被描述的，随后在多种实体瘤中也有发现。它们独特的生物学特性，包括自我更新能力、干细胞信号通路、相对静止以及对标准化疗和放疗的抗性，给研究人员和临床医生带来了新的挑战。这种对肿瘤的新观点的一个重要成果是认识到，有效的治疗方法需要同时针对快速增殖的大量肿瘤细胞和静止的CSC，因为当治疗停止时，CSC具有重新引发恶性肿瘤的能力。临床实验室无疑将迎来大量新的分子和组织病理学检测，以加强与识别和量化这些CSC相关的癌症患者的初始诊断、治疗决策和预后监测。
