RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Tumor Growth Need Not Be Driven by Rare Cancer Stem Cells
JF Science
JO Science
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP 337
OP 337
DO 10.1126/science.1142596
VO 317
IS 5836
A1 Kelly, Priscilla N.
A1 Dakic, Aleksandar
A1 Adams, Jerry M.
A1 Nutt, Stephen L.
A1 Strasser, Andreas
YR 2007
UL http://science.sciencemag.org/content/317/5836/337.abstract
AB The cancer stem cell hypothesis postulates that tumor growth is driven by a rare subpopulation of tumor cells. Much of the supporting evidence for this intriguing idea is derived from xenotransplantation experiments in which human leukemia cells are grown in immunocompromised mice. We show that, when lymphomas and leukemias of mouse origin are transplanted into histocompatible mice, a very high frequency (at least 1 in 10) of the tumor cells can seed tumor growth. We suggest that the low frequency of tumor-sustaining cells observed in xenotransplantation studies may reflect the limited ability of human tumor cells to adapt to growth in a foreign (mouse) milieu.