| dc.description.abstract | Many tissues have a tiny number of undifferentiated stem cells that
cycle throughout an individual's lifetime, renewing the differentiated
cells of tissues as needed. Many stem cells divide infrequently, and
the divisions are asymmetric, meaning that one daughter cell stays a
stem cell while the other commits to a differentiation path. In the field
of breast cancer research, the hypothesis of cancer stem cells being
responsible for tumor formation, maintenance, and treatment
resistance has gained traction. Tumors are made of heterogeneous
populations of cells with a hierarchical organization driven by cancer
stem cells, and therapeutic targeting of these cells has the ability to
remove residual disease (CSCs). When it comes to breast cancer,
this small population of cells displaying stem cell properties is known
as breast CSCs (BCSCs) | en_US |
