title: Cancer stem cells: The root of tumor recurrence and metastases.
abstract: Metastatic tumors are the cause of more than 90% of cancer related deaths. Metastasis formation can be considered as a culmination of the Darwinian evolutionary process within the tumor, when competition of multiple clones results in the development of cell inherent traits that favor tumor dissemination. Cancer stem cells (CSC) which possess self-renewal properties and genomic instability are considered to be an engine of tumor evolution. Cancer cells which have the capacity to colonize distant organs have the features of CSC and, in addition, exert their tumor-initiating capacity under adverse microenvironmental conditions. Recent studies support an idea that metastases can be driven by the evolved and selected subpopulations of CSC. In this review we discuss the common hallmarks of CSC and metastasis initiating cells (MIC) and prospects for the development of anti-metastatic therapy.
authors.affiliation: OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, Germany; German Cancer Consortium DKTK, Dresden, Germany; Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peitzsch
authors.affiliation: OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tyutyunnykova
authors.affiliation: Department of Tumour Biology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. Electronic address: pantel@uke.de.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pantel
authors.affiliation: OncoRay - National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; German Cancer Consortium DKTK, Dresden, Germany; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiooncology-OncoRay, Germany; Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: anna.dubrovska@oncoray.de.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dubrovska
mesh_terms: D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D058750:Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells
keywords: Cancer stem cells; Circulating tumor cells; Disseminated tumor cells; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Metastasis-initiating cells; Metastatic niche