Cancer Stem Cells- The Oncologist's Scapegoat
Friday, May 21, 2010 - 16:40
in Health & Medicine
Since the rediscovery of the cancer stem cell hypothesis by Peter Dirks at the University of Toronto, researchers often use these cancer stem cells (or cancer initiating cells) as the scapegoat to explain why cancers are so hard to treat. While scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact identity and origin of cancer stem cells, the general verdict in the cancer research community is that cancer stem cells are the guilty masterminds for the deadly progression of aggressive cancers. A well-accepted theory, coined the “cancer stem cell hypothesis” nearly 50 years ago, suggest that cancer stem cells are the “bad seeds” giving rise to cellular heterogeneity, aggressiveness and treatment resistance of most cancers. read more