title: Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) in melanoma: There's smoke, but is there fire?
abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also called Tumor Initiating Cells (TICs), can be defined as cancer cells that are present within solid tumors or hematological cancers, which have characteristics associated with normal stem cells, but which can give rise to all cell types found in a particular cancer sample. CSCs, therefore, are transformed stem cells, which can self-renew, differentiate into diverse progenies, and drive continuous tumor growth (Kreso & Dick, , Cell Stem Cell, 14:275-291; Schatton et al., , Nature, 451:345-349; Villani, Sabbatino, Ferrone, & Ferrone, , Melanoma Management, 2:109-114; Zhou et al., , Drug Discovery, 8:806-823) (Fig. ). [Figure: see text].
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.
authors.forename: Constance E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Brinckerhoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000066670:Cell Plasticity; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: humanized mice; innate and adaptive immunity; phenotypic plasticity; tumor initiating cells