title: Cancer Stem Cells in the Thyroid.
abstract: The cancer stem cell (CSC) model posits that CSCs are a small, biologically distinct subpopulation of cancer cells in each tumor that have self-renewal and multi-lineage potential, and are critical for cancer initiation, metastasis, recurrence, and therapy-resistance. Numerous studies have linked CSCs to thyroid biology, but the candidate markers and signal transduction pathways that drive thyroid CSC growth are controversial, the origin(s) of thyroid CSCs remain elusive, and it is unclear whether thyroid CSC biology is consistent with the original hierarchical CSC model or the more recent dynamic CSC model. Here, we critically review the thyroid CSC literature with an emphasis on research that confirmed the presence of thyroid CSCs by in vitro sphere formation or in vivo tumor formation assays with dispersed cells from thyroid cancer tissues or bona fide thyroid cancer cell lines. Future perspectives of thyroid CSC research are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University , Nagasaki , Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University , Nagasaki , Japan.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University , Nagasaki , Japan.
authors.forename: Norisato
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitsutake
keywords: aldehyde dehydrogenase; cancer stem cells; epithelial–mesenchymal transition; thyroid cancer; thyrosphere