title: Cancer stem cells, cancer-initiating cells and methods for their detection.
abstract: The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis considers CSCs as the main culprits of tumor initiation, propagation, metastasis and therapy failure. CSCs represent a minority subpopulation of cells within a tumor. Their detection, characterization and monitoring are crucial steps toward a better understanding of the biological roles of these special cells in the development and propagation of tumors which, in turn, improves clinical reasoning and treatment options. Nowadays, in vitro and in vivo assays are available that address the self-renewal and differentiation potential of CSCs, and advanced in vivo molecular imaging technology facilitates the detection and provides an unprecedented in vivo observation platform to study the behavior of CSCs in their natural environment. Here, we provide a brief overview of CSCs and describe modern cellular models and labeling techniques to study and trace CSCs.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Shiva
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akbari-Birgani
authors.affiliation: Institute for Management and Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada.
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paranjothy
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hospital of Baselland, Affiliated with the Univ. Basel, Liestal, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zuse
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Div. Lab. Med. in Sosnowiec, Dept. Mol. Biol. Med. Univ. Silesia, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Janikowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Automatic Control, Silesian Univ. of Technology, Gliwice, Poland.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cieślar-Pobuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Wirginia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Likus
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Elżbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Urasińska
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.affiliation: Children Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Manitoba, Canada; Health Policy Research Centre, Shiraz Medical University, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghavami
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klonisch
authors.affiliation: LinkoCare Life Sciences AB, 583 30 Linköping, Sweden; ENT Department, School of Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland. Electronic address: mjelos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marek J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Łos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D006801:Humans; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells