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It is now generally accepted that cancers contain a sub-population, the cancer stem cells (CSCs), which initiate and drive a tumour's growth. At least until recently it has been widely assumed that only a small proportion of the cells in a tumour are CSCs. Here we use a mathematical model, supported by experimental evidence, to show that such an assumption is unwarranted. We show that CSCs may comprise any possible proportion of the tumour, and that the higher the proportion the more aggressive the tumour is likely to be.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.07.031

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Theor Biol

Publication Date

21/10/2010

Volume

266

Pages

708 - 711

Keywords

Cell Count, Cell Proliferation, Colorectal Neoplasms, Humans, Models, Biological, Neoplasms, Neoplastic Stem Cells