Breast Cancer Stem Cell and Breast Cancer
Because breast cancer stem cells may be highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, the development of more effective therapies for this disease may require the effective targeting of this cell population.
Abstract
Cancer stem cells(CSC) possess characteristics of both stem cells and cancer cells.A CSC origin for breast cancer can neatly explain both the heterogeneity of breast cancers and the relapse of the tumors after treatment.These aberrant stem cells may provide targets for the development of cancer prevention strategies.Furthermore,because breast cancer stem cells may be highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy,the development of more effective therapies for this disease may require the effective targeting of this cell population.This review focused on the discovery,enrichment,isolation,signaling pathway and therapy of breast cancer stem cells.