Cancer stem cells - from initiation to elimination, how far have we reached? (Review)

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are rare tumor cells that have the potential to proliferate, self-renew and induce tumorigenesis. Over the past few years, CSCs have been isolated from several different tumors and when implanted into immune-deficient mice, generate tumors that are identical to the parental tumors. In this review, we summarize the current literature on CSCs, which suggests that since these cells have the ability to drive tumor formation, specifically targeting them may lead to more effective therapies against tumors.