title: Cancer stem cells in oncology.
abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess several characteristics including self-renewal, pluripotency and tumorigenicity  and constitute a rare population in a tumor mass. Because  conventional cancer therapies can not kill CSCs, these cells  are responsible for tumor relapse and metastasis. Currently,  with advances in the identification of CSCs, the importance  of these cells is increasing in the field of cancer diagnosis and  prognosis. In addition, clarifying the mechanisms responsible  for the maintenance of CSCs properties led to the development of CSC-targeted therapies.
authors: Istanbul University, Institute of Science, Department of General Biology, Istanbul, Turkey. cetin.idil@gmail.com
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Cetin
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Topcul
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D011379:Prognosis