| pubmed-article:16632342 | pubmed:abstractText | Both stem cells and cancer cells are thought to be capable of unlimited proliferation. Moreover, many tumours and cancer cell lines express stem cell markers, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporters, by which the cells pump out specific fluorescent dyes as well as anti-cancer drugs, suggesting either that cancer cells resemble stem cells or that cancers contain stem-like cells. Using the common characteristics of brain tumour cells and neural stem cells, several research groups have succeeded in identifying stem-like cells (cancer stem-like cells) in brain tumours and brain cancer cell lines. The purified cancer stem-like cells, but not the other cancer cells, self-renew and form tumours when transplanted in vivo. Thus, cancer stem-like cells in brain tumours might be a crucial target for anti-brain tumour therapy. | lld:pubmed |
