癌症干细胞

Abstract(#br)Cutaneous melanoma is an increasingly common and potentially lethal malignancy of melanocytes, the melanin producing cells normally located in the basal layer of the skin epidermis. Despite major advances in cancer chemotherapeutics and immunotherapy, the success in treating metastatic melanoma remains poor. The notion that cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a key role in melanoma progression is well received. Therefore, isolating and characterizing CSCs is of critical importance for designing new therapeutic strategies that target this unique tumor initiating cell sub-population.