Stem Cells and Tumourigenesis

Abstract

The origin and propagation of neoplastic growth appear to be from stem cells, initially affecting normal stem cells and then involving neoplastic stem cells whose identity will be paramount for successful chemotherapeutic targeting. Many, if not all cancers contain a minority population of self‐renewing stem cells, the cancer stem cells (CSCs) that are entirely responsible for sustaining the tumour as well as giving rise to proliferating but progressively differentiating cells that contribute to the cellular heterogeneity typical of many solid tumours. Thus, the bulk of the tumour is often not the clinical problem; the identification of CSCs and the factors that regulate their behaviour are likely to have an enormous bearing on the way we treat neoplastic disease in the future. This chapter summarizes our knowledge of the origins of some cancers from normal stem cells, the evidence for the existence of cancer stem cells and illustrates some of the stem cell renewal pathways that are frequently aberrant in cancer.