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S till in the very early stages of development, cancer stem
cell research is a growing area of interest in the scientic world. Due to continuing developments in this relatively new
eld, its important to understand cancer stem cells and why
researchers are anxious to study and perhaps use them for
medical purposes. Stem cells have some special properties: They can remain as a stem cell and make more stem cells
(known as undifferentiated). These cells, through self-
renewal, can survive for very long periods of time. They can develop along several pathways: they can divide,
duplicate or become specialized into specic tissues, such as
cells that produce insulin. When they reproduce more stem cells in large numbers, the
result is called a stem cell line. Embryonic stem cells (derived from embryos that develop from
eggs that have been fertilized in vitro and then donated for
research purposes) have the potential to give rise to many
different types of tissue. Because of this, embryonic stem cells
are currently considered to have the most potential for use in the
regeneration of diseased or injured tissues. Another potential
role is providing a better understanding of cancer development. Adult stem cells (sometimes
called somatic stem cells) are
different from embryonic stem
cells. They are found in all
humans at birth and exist
throughout life. Adult stem
cells are few in number and are
hard to isolate. Their role is to
maintain and repair the tissues
where they are located. For
example, liver stem cells might
repair damage to the liver. The fact that adult stem cells
have the potential to replace
and maintain tissues has led to
research into other possible
roles of adult stem cells. The
theory that abnormal adult
stem cells may play a role in Cancer Stem Cell Research Shows Promise front line The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundations Newsletter Fall 2006 the development, growth
and spread of cancer is an
active area of research. It is thought that a tumor
could start from cancer
stem cells (normal adult
stem cells that somehow
become cancer stem
cells). In fact, in early research on acute myeloid leukemia,
cancer stem cells were shown to be the only cells that could
reproduce the cancer when transferred during laboratory
testing. The interest in cancer stem cells has been fueled further
by the identication of cancer stem cells in brain and breast
cancers. Similar results to those seen in myeloid leukemia have
been found in these cancers ability to regrow from stem cells
located in the tumor. Other tumor cells that were not cancer
stem cells did not demonstrate this ability to regrow. We know that sometimes, even when we treat cancer and it can
no longer be found, it can come back or spread. One theory is
that current therapies that target cancer and cause the tumor
to get smaller might only be killing certain tumor cells (the
differentiated ones), but leaving the cancer stem cells unharmed
and able to produce more cancer cells later. If this proves to be
true, it can change the way we understand and treat breast
cancer in the future because we will have the cancer stem cell
as a target. It might be possible to recognize these extremely
early changes (from normal stem cells to cancer stem cells) and
treat them before a tumor or metastatic disease ever exists. (continued on page 5) The Many Faces of Breast Cancer 2 Komen Afliate News 3 New Tools in the Fight Against Breast Cancer 4 Komen National Race for the Cure

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