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Cell at risk
Cancer Stem Cell (CSC) hypothesis
• Tumors are stem cell-based tissues, like any other tissue
•
Hierarchical structure within the tumor
•
Not all the tumor cells are equally competent for regenerating the tumor
•
Only a tumor subpopulation (stem cells) is responsible for the cancer
recurrence after treatment
Treatment failure
• CSCs are more resistant to antiproliferative therapies than other tumor
subpopulations
• Normal stem cells are sensitive to antiproliferative therapies
• To erradicate the CSCs would require to eliminate normal stem cells
(Toxicity)