Cancer stem cells are a small subpopulation of tumour cells that possess the capacity to self-renew and to differentiate into the diverse cell types that make up a tumour, and they are implicated in tumour initiation, growth, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to therapy. The concept holds that a hierarchical or…
Cancer stem cells are a small subpopulation of tumour cells that possess the capacity to self-renew and to differentiate into the diverse cell types that make up a tumour, and they are implicated in tumour initiation, growth, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to therapy. The concept holds that a hierarchical organization exists within many cancers, in which these tumour-initiating cells sit at the apex and regenerate the bulk population, helping to explain why treatments that shrink a tumour can be followed by relapse. Their biology is governed by stemness-associated transcriptional programmes, signalling pathways, and epigenetic regulation, and is studied through markers, circadian regulators, and microRNA control of genes such as OCT4. Research in this field examines the molecular and cell-biological events that initiate sporadic solid cancers, the relationship between cancer stem cells and field cancerization, and epigenetic biomarkers in head and neck malignancy, alongside broader questions in stem-cell research and ethics. Because these cells frequently evade conventional cytotoxic treatment, they are regarded as important targets for prevention and therapy, and efforts focus on disrupting their self-renewal and survival pathways. Central debates concern whether cancer stem cells are a cause or a consequence of tumour evolution, how to identify them reliably, and how to translate their biology into more durable treatment strategies.
9 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 9 articles above have been cited 26 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Cancer Stem Cells, linking to each citing work.