ArticleCancers2021
Stem Cell Theory of Cancer: Origin of Tumor Heterogeneity and Plasticity.
Article in Cancers, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- The underexplored complexity of pancreatic cancer: Early dissemination and quiescence.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Reviews on cancer · 2026Review
- Transcriptomic Challenges We Faced with Animal Models for Neurological Disorders.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Molecular characteristics, clonal relatedness and surgical outcomes of pulmonary mixed invasive mucinous and non-mucinous adenocarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Article
- Harnessing Cancer Stem Cells and 3D Organoids in Unravelling Spatial and Cellular Heterogeneity in Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Role of intratumoral heterogeneity in metastatic progression and drug resistance.Discover oncology · 2025Review
- Article
- Carcinogenesis trajectories.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Reconstructing tumor clonal heterogeneity and evolutionary relationships based on tumor DNA sequencing data.Briefings in bioinformatics · 2024Article
- CD11b/CD86 involved in the microenvironment of colorectal cancer by promoting Wnt signaling activation.Cancer medicine · 2024Article
- Germ Cell Tumor of the Testis: Lethal Subtypes of a Curable Cancer.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Advanced Molecular Solutions for Cancer Therapy-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Biomarker Paradigm.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Stem Cell Theory of Cancer: Clinical Implications for Cellular Metabolism and Anti-Cancer Metabolomics.Cancers · 2024Article
- Exploring the promising potential of induced pluripotent stem cells in cancer research and therapy.Molecular cancer · 2023Review
- Genomic Fabrics of the Excretory System's Functional Pathways Remodeled in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Article
- Understanding and Overcoming Immunosuppression Shaped by Cancer Stem Cells.Cancer research · 2023Article
- Stem Cell Origin of Cancer: Implications of Oncogenesis Recapitulating Embryogenesis in Cancer Care.Cancers · 2023Article
- The Genes-Stemness-Secretome Interplay in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Molecular Dynamics and Clinical Hints.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Stem Cell Theory of Cancer: Implications for Translational Research from Bedside to Bench.Cancers · 2022Article
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances target and alter human prostate stem-progenitor cells.Biochemical pharmacology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In many respects, heterogeneity is one of the most striking revelations and common manifestations of a stem cell origin of cancer. We observe heterogeneity in myriad mixed tumors including testicular, lung, and breast cancers. We recognize heterogeneity in diverse tumor subtypes in prostate and kidney cancers. From this perspective, we illustrate that one of the main stem-ness characteristics, i.e., the ability to differentiate into diverse and multiple lineages, is central to tumor heterogeneity. We postulate that cancer subtypes can be meaningless and useless without a proper theory about cancer's stem cell versus genetic origin and nature. We propose a unified theory of cancer in which the same genetic abnormalities, epigenetic defects, and microenvironmental aberrations cause different effects and lead to different outcomes in a progenitor stem cell versus a mature progeny cell. We need to recognize that an all-encompassing genetic theory of cancer may be incomplete and obsolete. A stem cell theory of cancer provides greater universality, interconnectivity, and utility. Although genetic defects are pivotal, cellular context is paramount. When it concerns tumor heterogeneity, perhaps we need to revisit the conventional wisdom of precision medicine and revise our current practice of targeted therapy in cancer care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.