New hope in the horizon: cancer stems cells

The major goal of researchers and oncologists is to develop promising ground for novel therapeutic strategies to prevent recurrence or relapse of cancer. Recent evidences suggest that a subset of cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs) are present within the tumor mass which possess tumorigenic capacity and may be responsible for propagation, relapse, and metastatic dissemination. These cells have certain stem cell-like properties, e.g. quiescence, self-renewal, asymmetric division, and multidrug resistance which allow them to drive tumor growth and evade conventional therapies. A number of markers and assays have been designed to isolate and characterize the CSC population from the bulk tumor. The objective now is to selectively target the CSCs in order to eliminate the tumor from root, overcoming the emergence of clones capable of evading traditional therapy. This approach may help in increasing the overall disease-free survival in some cancers.