Expert review of anticancer therapy
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Expert Rev Anticancer Ther · May 2010
ReviewGlioma stem cell signaling: therapeutic opportunities and challenges.
The field of cancer research has experienced significant momentum from the discovery that most malignant tumors harbor subpopulations of cancer cells with stem cell features. Consequently, identification and characterization of so-called 'cancer-initiating cells' or 'cancer stem cells' has also provided novel insights into the biology of malignant brain tumors. ⋯ Novel treatment strategies are being developed to selectively target the molecular pathways relevant to cancer stem cells. This review summarizes important signaling pathways employed by both normal and cancer stem cells and highlights promising molecular-targeted therapies interfering with those signaling pathways in malignant gliomas.