Cells are created, and die, all the time. As long as More live than die, we are good.
When it's the other way around, it's a tumor. If the die-off spreads to other areas, it is malignant.
Since doctors seem to label CANCER as a CONDITION (correct me if I'm wrong), then we know the condition doesn't have stem cells. The stem cells may belong to the dying/dead cells that the 'condition' has overtaken.
What causes the 'condition'? I.E. What causes the cells to suddenly expire ?
Even they say they don't know.
“What causes the ‘condition’? I.E. What causes the cells to suddenly expire ?
Even they say they don’t know.”
You should take a look at this TEDtalk:
The delivery mechanism of the drugs may now be affected to include not only where (locale) the "smart drugs" need to go to minimize the damage to healthy tissues, but also looking for and exterminating the cancer stem cells, which until now were masked as "healthy" tissues, leading to substantially decreasing chances for cancer regrowth, i.e., effectively achieving "permanent" remission.
More material on this:
Cancer stem cell discovery could signal 'paradigm shift' - BBC News, by Pallab Ghosh, 2012 August 01
Three separate studies on mice appear to have confirmed the view that the growth of tumours is driven by so-called cancer stem cells. The researchers claim to have resolved one of the biggest controversies in cancer research and say their work marks a "paradigm shift" in the field. The studies have been published in the journals, Nature and Science. Doctors often successfully reduce the size of tumours through various therapies, but often patients suffer a relapse and the tumour regrows. Some researchers believe that this happens because therapies fail to eradicate a small proportion of cells that drive tumour growth known as cancer stem cells. They believe that these are the cells that should be targeted to eliminate the tumour forever. Evidence for the existence of cancer stem cells has been weak. But now three separate groups of researchers working independently have found direct evidence of cancer stem cells driving tumour growth in brain, gut and skin cancers. The suggestion is that the same may be true of all cancers which produce solid tumours. ..... < snip > ..... The newly-identified cancer stem cells are very similar to healthy stem cells responsible for growing and renewing tissue in the body. Any therapy to target cancer stem cells may also destroy healthy tissues. A priority for researchers will be to see if there are important differences between normal and cancer stem cells so that therapies can distinguish between them. ..... < snip > ..... "Cancer stem cells change the paradigm. The goal of shrinking tumours may well turn out to be less important than targeting the cancer cells in that tumour." ..... < snip > Researchers have discovered the cells in tumours that seem to be responsible for the regrowth of tumours.
Stem cell findings point toward new cancer treatments - LAT, by Rosie Mestel and Eryn Brown, 2012 August 01
The findings - made by independent research teams that used mice to study tumors of the brain, intestines and skin - could change the approach to fighting cancers in humans, experts said. Properties of these so-called cancer stem cells can be investigated so researchers can devise strategies for killing them off, said Luis F. Parada, a molecular geneticist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and senior author of one of the studies published Wednesday. ..... < snip > ..... The three papers published by the journals Nature and Science "really should seal the deal," said cancer biologist Owen Witte, director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA. "People can stop arguing," he said. "Now they can say, 'OK, the cells are here. We now need to know how to treat them.' " All three studies used molecular tricks that allowed scientists to mark certain tumor cells with bright colors. When these marked cells divided, all of the daughter cells were similarly colored. This permitted the researchers to see whether any old cell in a tumor can continue to fuel its growth or if only a subset of cells is responsible. The three groups used different experimental approaches and different kinds of cancer, but all of them found the latter to be true. ..... < snip > When cancers are treated, tumors may shrink but then come roaring back. Now studies on three different types of tumors suggest a key reason why: The cancers are fueled by stem cells that chemotherapy drugs don't kill.
This breakthrough and the advances in targeted drug delivery mechanisms, including new targeted genetic cells modification mechanisms may soon give hope of effective "permanent" treatment to millions of people suffering from cancers.