[Nescafe]

Hi,

Is there a difference? I have been reading into it on wiki and such but I just can't wrap my head around it :S

Thanks,

Nescafe.

[dayglo]

Well, yes. What is a stem cell (generally)? How might this be applied to cancer?

[Nescafe]

Well, yes. What is a stem cell (generally)? How might this be applied to cancer?

I understand what stem cells are. They are undifferentiated cells that have the capability of transforming to a specialized cell (e.g. Brain Cell, lung cell etc). This is only to name of their extraordinary capabilities. They are a critical part of tissue and organ repair which is constantly occurring within our body as well as growth in general. From my understanding the idea that cancer stem cells are the main driving force of tumor formation is still a theory and a hot topic of debate and I wanted to hear someone's thought on this subject as I find it very intriguing.

Thanks,

Nescafe.

[dayglo]

I know some people doing research in this field, and from what I understand, it's fairly well-established that there are such cells. However, what isn't known is the exact mechanism and any dependence on tumor type. Often these are isolated later on, so not much is known about the nascent capabilities of these cells. Basically, a lot of people think they exist and there's evidence corroborating this, but not a whole lot else is known, and what is may not be widely applicable across cancers and tumor types.