Attacking Cancer Stem Cells
October 8, 2008 | Source: Technology Review
Harvard Medical School researchers have developed a new way to find drugs that selectively kill “cancer stem cells” or prevent them from dividing (cancer stem cells are now thought to be capable of generating and maintaining a tumor and are resistant to standard cancer treatments).
The team is currently using the method to identify drug candidates for leukemia, a disease for which cancer stem cells have been well characterized. The researchers believe that the approach could eventually extend to other kinds of cancer.