Cancer stem cells in the haematopoietic system
Urup, T.; Madsen, G.; Hallager, S.; Schmitz, A.; Fogd, K.; Bøgsted, M.; Nyegaard, M.; Sørensen, K.D.; Johnsen, H.E.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 172(38): 2597-2600
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1603-6824 PMID: 20920402 Document Number: 644019
Cancer is dependent on so-called cancer stem cells that initiate and maintain the cancer cell population. Stem cells are described in normal tissue as low-frequent, self-renewing cells with a multi- or pluripotent differentiation potential. The true characteristics of the cancer-initiating cells are still not entirely known, but it is obvious that identifying these cells will enable us to better understand the biology of cancer. In this article, we focus on normal haematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells in leukaemia and multiple myeloma.