Open AccessSuccessful Therapy Must Eradicate Cancer Stem Cells
Author(s) -
Dingli David,
Michor Franziska
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.2006-0136
Subject(s) - stem cell , cancer stem cell , biology , cancer research , cancer , cancer therapy , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics
Abstract Despite significant improvements in cancer therapy, tumor recurrence is frequent and can be due to a variety of mechanisms, including the evolution of resistance and tumor progression. Cancer stem cells have been postulated to maintain tumor growth similar to normal stem cells maintaining tissue homeostasis. Recently, the existence of these malignant stem cells has been proven for hematological as well as some solid tumors. Tumor stem cells are not targeted by standard therapy and might be responsible for treatment failure and tumor recurrence in many patients. We designed a simple mathematical model to demonstrate the importance of eliminating tumor stem cells. We explored different therapeutic scenarios to illustrate the properties required from novel therapeutic agents for successful tumor treatment. We show that successful therapy must eradicate tumor stem cells.