Cancer stem cells: An insight

Abstract

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have the ability to self-renew and are present in most tissues including breast, brain, lung, head and neck, prostates, testis, ovary, esophagus, colon and liver. Their origin is yet to be discovered though a series of hypotheses have been proposed in this regard. CSCs play a role in not only the creation of cancer but also its evolution, metastasis and recurrence. CSCs have an important role in cancer therapy and the resistance toward chemotherapeutic agents. This article reviews the characteristics of CSCs in terms of origin, methods of isolation and cancer therapy.