[Tumor stem cell research - basis and challenge for diagnosis and therapy].
Biological features of tumor cells relevant to progression, metastasis, and prognosis in cancer patients have been investigated for many years. During the past few years, the concept of tumor stem cells has gained widespread acceptance. The cancer stem cell (CSC) model is based on the observation that continuous growth of tumors depends on a small population of immature neoplastic cells with unlimited proliferative potential. In contrast to these CSC, more mature clonal cells in the same neoplasm undergo apoptosis and die after a variable number of cell divisions. The self-renewal capacity of CSC plays a central role in this scenario and enables permanent tumor cell repopulation in vivo in patients as well as in experimental animals, e.g., immunodeficient mice. Based on the stem cell concept, it is clear that the success of an anti-neoplastic approach depends on efficient targeting and elimination of CSC. An important aspect of CSC is their intrinsic resistance against conventional drugs. Therefore, a major focus in current research is molecular targets and their expression in CSC, with the goal to use targeted drugs for CSC elimination. It is the hope for the future that therapeutic approaches involving CSC-targeting concepts will lead to sustained remission and thus improvement of prognosis in leukemia and cancer patients.
Karlic
Heidrun
H
Ludwig Boltzmann Cluster Oncology (LBI for Leukemia Research), Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria. heidrun.karlic@meduniwien.ac.at
Herrmann
Harald
H
Schulenburg
Axel
A
Grunt
Thomas W
TW
Laffer
Sylvia
S
Mirkina
Irina
I
Hubmann
Rainer
R
Shehata
Medhat
M
Marian
Brigitte
B
Selzer
Edgar
E
Pfeilstöcker
Michael
M
Pittermann
Elisabeth
E
Jäger
Ulrich
U
Pehamberger
Hubert
H
Zielinski
Christoph
C
Valent
Peter
P
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents