Study prompts new ideas on cancers' origins
December 16, 2017, Washington University School of Medicine
Rapidly dividing, yet aberrant stem cells are a major source of cancer. But a new study suggests that mature cells also play a key role in initiating cancer—a finding that could upend the way scientists think about the origin of the disease.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that mature cells have the ability to revert back to behaving more like rapidly dividing stem cells. However, when old cells return to a stem cell-like status, they can carry with them all of the mutations that have accumulated to date, predisposing some of those cells to developing into precancerous lesions.
The new study is published online in the journal Gastroenterology.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-prompts-ideas-cancers.html
