Talk:Cancer stem cell

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[edit] Cleanup tag

what does tagged mean? -- 214.1.101.252, 17:53, 23 August 2005

I didn't add the tag, but I'd guess that this article was cleanup-tagged for the following reasons:

1. no bolded article title in first "paragraph"
2. incompete sentence
3. no sentence capitalization
4. no explanation or proper citation of references
5. incredibly short text (what some call a "sub-stub")

I've addressed all but the last issue, making this a tiny but reasonably formatted stub. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 01:39, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Write-up

I will try to write up a comprehensive article on this subject. I have therefore removed the stub tag. Feel free to contribute in the mean time and I will incorporate your edits into my text. Peter Znamenskiy 10:41, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

You've done a good job so far, but there still needs some work done (adding citations etc.) I've added to the MCB WikiProject. Dr Aaron 11:31, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proposal for additions

I think this article is already quite informative. Although I don't agree with the 'low importance' rating. The subject has received significant public media attention to warrant a higher rating.

I have some thoughts on additions to the article:

CSCs in different tumor types
Maybe we should include some more specific examples for tumors where a population of cancer stem cells have been found in the 'evidence for cancer stem cells' section?
There is some pretty solid published evidence now for a CSC population in glioblastoma, colon cancer and breast cancer.

How CSCs are identified
Maybe add methods for purification, identification and culture of CSCs?

Origin of the cancer stem cell
The theory of the origin of the cancer stem cell is still debated. While the oncogenic transformation of a stem cell is one possibility, there is still a lot of discussion surrounding this issue. Possible progenitors of the CSCs are either pluripotent stem cells, multipotent progenitor cells (in certain cancers 'transiently amplifying cells') or even a differentiated cell which regains some 'stem-like' properties due to mutations.

Cancer stem cell niche
Another topic which might be added is the theory of a 'cancer stem cell niche', stating that like normal stem cells also cancer stem cells need a specific environment to keep up their stem-like state.

Nomenclature
The debate about the origin and existence of a cancer stem cells is also reflected in the nomenclature used. Some scientists and articles refer to these cells as 'tumor progenitor cells' or 'tumor initiating cells'. Maybe these terms should also included.

Any thoughts? --Loopback007 00:40, 7 December 2006 (UTC)