Cancer STEM cells – the science gets stronger

Dr. Weeks’ Comment:  Now the focus is shifting AWAY from attacking cancer TUMOR cells with chemo radiation and surgery  and towards the much more important goal of  focusing on cancer STEM cells – the therapy requires anti-inflammation  and the best option is to eat the seeds:  ask for BestSeeds.

“…. Given their critical roles in tumor growth/metastasis and resistance to therapy, new discoveries on the role of CSCs within tumors and the development of advanced therapeutic strategies to target CSCs are essential…” 

Cancer Stem Cells: Dynamic Functional Links to Cancer Progression and Resistance to Therapy

Call for Papers

Tumor initiating cells or cancer stem cells (CSCs) are broadly defined by their capacity to self-renew and reconstitute the heterogeneity of the tumor from which they are derived. CSCs are functionally defined by their ability to give rise to tumors when transplanted into immunodeficient mice. At the molecular level, CSCs and their normal stem cell counterparts have been shown to share key self-renewal pathways as well as specific cell-surface markers that aid in their isolation. CSCs were initially identified in the hematopoietic system and subsequently in solid cancers as a distinct undifferentiated population resistant to conventional therapy and able to drive tumor relapse and/or metastasis. CSCs may arise following transformation of normal stem/progenitor cells or when differentiated tumor cells undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT in tumor cells has been linked to the acquisition of invasive, metastatic behavior and stem cell-like properties. Given their critical roles in tumor growth/metastasis and resistance to therapy, new discoveries on the role of CSCs within tumors and the development of advanced therapeutic strategies to target CSCs are essential.

We welcome original research articles and review articles that shed light on new exciting findings and concepts in the CSCs field.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• New insights on the biology of self-renewal and survival capacity of CSCs
• Discovery of novel cell surface markers for cancer cells with stem cell-like characteristics
• CSCs in selected tissues: skin, prostate, lung, breast, liver, pancreas, colon, thyroid, brain, testis, kidney, and so on
• CSCs and embryonic genes, signaling pathways, the local immune system, tumor dormancy, EMT, angiogenesis, metastasis, epigenetics, metabolomics, and energy synthesis
• CSC niche
• Novel strategies for selectively targeting CSCs and thereby advancing cancer therapy

Authors can submit their manuscripts via the Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/sci/cscs/.

Lead Guest Editor

• Maria C. Rangel, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, USA

Guest Editors

• Peter C. Gray, Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA
• Masaharu Seno, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
• Fariba Behbod, KUMC, Kansas City, USA
• Jonathan R. Keller, NCI/NIH, Frederick, USA