In a commentary, Richard Hill, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto and Roberto Perris, Ph.D., of the University of Parma in Italy discuss the need for a more accurate definition of cancer stem cells.
Currently, cancer stem cells are defined as cancer cells that have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into the various types of cancer cells in the tumor.
Targeting the small number of cancer stem cells holds promise for treating cancer, and interest in this area has been great among cancer researchers. But it is still unclear whether cancer cells act like other adult stem cells, and the authors suggest that they be called “cancer-initiating cells” instead. They caution that developing new drugs to kill these cells may prove less effective than expected if the drugs are based on erroneous assumptions about how cancer stem cells work.
“The many unresolved issues concerning the nature of cancer-initiating cells hamper the full understanding of their unique identity and their potential as specific therapeutic targets,” the authors write.