Cancer Stem Cells Essay

Cancer Stem Cells Stem cells play an important role in the creation of complex structures within the human body, and they can also produce tumors. The properties of stem cells have a large implementation of how cancerous stem cells survive and replicate. Elimination of these cancer stem cells presents a complex challenge because in order to remove the stem cell it must first be targeted and eradicated using critical therapeutic approaches. The properties of cancer stem cells are used to develop new strategies for removal of these cells from the human body, and contribute to the attainment of cancer treatment. Stem cells are found in many diverse somatic tissues and are important contributors in their formation. Cells that descend from stem cells are organized where the stem cell resides at beginning of the developmental pathway. Stem cells have three distinguishing properties: self-renewal, the capability to develop into numerous lineages, and the potential to proliferate extensively (Jordan, et al. 2006). These three properties are what make stem cells so unique. The characteristic of self-renewal is exclusively prominent, because its destabilization is highly applicable to oncogenesis and malignancy (Jordan, et al. 2006). …show more content…
Malignant cells with these functional properties have been designated as cancer stem cells (Jordan, et al. 2006). It is possible for cancer stem cells arise from regular stem cells through random mutations. However, studies indicate that cancer stem cells can also arise from mutated progenitor cells that possess replicative ability, but do not have the self-renewal capacity of stem cells (Jordan, et al. 2006). To become a cancer stem cell, a progenitor cell must acquire mutations that allows it to regain the property of self-renewal (Jordan, et al. 2006). Cancer stem cells can arise from different origins, but they share a common property of