Brain tumors provide new clues to the source of cancer stem cells: Does oncology recapitulate ontogeny?

Abstract

Recent studies of leukemia and solid tumors have provided compelling evidence for the existence of cancer stem cells, but the origin of these cells remains a matter of considerable debate. By comparing the gene expression profiles of ependymomas with those of cells in the normal developing nervous system, we were able to pinpoint radial glia as candidate stem cells of this brain tumor. These data suggest strongly that ependymomas arise directly from transformed radial glia and they provide a novel method that could be used to map the cell of origin of other types of cancer. ©2006 Landes Bioscience.