title: Lung cancer stem cells-characteristics, phenotype.
abstract: Lung cancer remains a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with unfavourable prognosis mainly due to the late stage of disease at presentation. High incidence and disease recurrence rates are a fact despite advances in treatment. Ongoing experimental and clinical observations suggest that the malignant phenotype in lung cancer is sustained by lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) which are putative stem cells situated throughout the airways that have the potential of initiating lung cancer formation. These cells share the common characteristic of increased proliferation and differentiation, long life span and resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This review summarises the current knowledge on their characteristics and phenotype.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, King's College, London, UK ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hardavella
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, King's College, London, UK ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: George
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, King's College, London, UK ; 2 Department of Respiratory Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sethi
keywords: Stem cells; characteristics; lung cancer; phenotype; stem cell markers