US researchers have identified cells in breast tumors that produce new cancer cells.
Dr. Michael Clarke, who led the study at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center,said the cells make copies of themselves and produce all the other kinds of cells in the original tumor.
"What we are working on now is finding out what makes these tumor stem cells different from the other cells in a tumor".
The cells had already been identified in leukemia sufferers, but this is the first time they have been isolated in solid tumors, Dr Clarke said.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, may provide an explanation for how treatments for secondary breast cancer often fail, said oncologist Dr. Max Wicha.
AFP