title: Comment on "Tumor growth need not be driven by rare cancer stem cells".
abstract: Kelly et al. (Brevia, 20 July 2007, p. 337) questioned xenotransplant experiments supporting the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis because they found a high frequency of leukemia-initiating cells (L-IC) in some transgenic mouse models. However, the CSC hypothesis depends on prospective purification of cells with tumor-initiating capacity, irrespective of frequency. Moreover, we found similar L-IC frequencies in genetically comparable leukemias using syngeneic or xenogeneic models.
authors: Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
authors: James A
authors: JA
authors: Kennedy
authors: Frédéric
authors: F
authors: Barabé
authors: Armando G
authors: AG
authors: Poeppl
authors: Jean C Y
authors: JC
authors: Wang
authors: John E
authors: JE
authors: Dick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002469:Cell Separation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous