The Hallmarks of Cancer Stem Cells

Dear Colleagues,

From the very beginning of efforts employed to develop a cure for cancer, the overarching principle has been to target characteristics that are specific to cancer cells so as to spare normal cells as much as possible. In 2011, Hanahan and Weinberg published their landmark review article entitled “Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation”. Traits that were linked to the abnormal behaviour of cancer cells included the controls pertaining to viability, proliferation, differentiation, cytostasis, and motility. Additionally, the longstanding use of chemotherapeutics and radiotherapy to treat cancer has targeted proliferating cells. In 2008, Dick brought to attention how stem cell concepts had renewed cancer research. Cancer stem cells and, as first described, the leukaemia stem cells for acute myeloid leukaemia are rare cells (<0.1%) that sustain a malignancy. Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells generate a hierarchy of cells, but the offspring are abnormal. Cancer stem cells are spared by conventional chemotherapy and appear to be the prime cause of disease relapse and metastasis; therefore, for the past 10 years, substantial efforts have been employed to target these cells.

Differences between normal and cancer stem cells are important to targeting cancer stem cells. This Special Issue welcomes articles on various aspects to normal stem cells versus cancer stem cells as follows.

Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Brown
Dr. Maarten Hoogenkamp
Prof. Dr. Ewa Marcinkowska
Guest Editors

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