Cancer Stemness of Pediatric Tumors

Self-renewal and pluripotency have been initially attributed to normal stem cells that posses the ability to give rise to all cell types in the adult organism. Seminal findings in acute myeloid leukemia in the late 1990s led to the identification of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Since then, they have been an intense focus of cancer research. CSCs have been identified in most if not all the hematological malignancies as well as the solid tumors. CSCs may generate tumors through the stem cell processes of self-renewal and differentiation into multiple cell types. These cells are proposed to resist various forms of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and cause relapse and metastasis by giving rise to new tumors. Here, we aim to draw parallels between epigenetics, molecular circuits and phenotype between normal pluripotent stem cells and cells with the stem cell like phenotype that propel tumor growth.