Oncogenesis Through Stem Cells
Abstract
The hypothesis indicating the existence of tumoral stem cells and the process of oncogenesis refreshed the scientific world. The stem cells are able to proliferate symmetrically (by forming two stem cells) and asymmetrically. The existence of cancerous stem cells has been proved not only in carcinogenesis, but also in the evolution of various human tumor types (breast cancer, prostatic cancer). Furthermore, the frequent bad results following to anti-cancerous therapies seem to be the consequence of the great resistance of cancerous stem cells to many drugs. In fact it is known the resistance of normal stem cells to hostile or toxic environment. By having mentioned aspects there has been elaborated a new hypothesis regarding carcinogenesis. The initiation of the neoplastic process seems to happen in stem cells that suffer transformation (initiation), becoming in fact cancerous stem cells. These modified cells represent also the first stage of carcinogenesis, which later are involved in tumoral promotion and progression. This hypothesis based on cancerous stem cells, opened the perspective of some new researches directed against stem tumoral cells.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
