Cancer Stem Cells: A New Approach to Treating Cancer

Cancer stem cells are fast emerging as a promising new approach to treating cancer—one that may not only prevent cancer from spreading but also may help diagnose and even cure the disease. The concept of cancer stem cells has been around for several decades, but only in the last 10 years or so have studies appeared that prove their existence in a variety of cancer types. The term refers to a small number of cells in a tumor or blood cancer shown to be capable of seeding new tumors and causing the cancer to proliferate---just as regular stem cells reproduce and can differentiate into a variety of normal tissue types.

First uncovered in leukemia in the late '90s, cancer stem cells have since been identified in a range of solid tumors, including breast, brain, and bone. They are now widely...