Stem Cells and Cancer: Cause

It is so far unclear to what extent cancer might be caused by the unchecked replication of mutated stem cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are undifferentiated and replicate indefinitely. some scientists believe these cells arise from mutated stem cells, while others believe them to be the result of mutated progenitors or differentiated cells that have become de-differentiated. Because stem cells can self-renew, their life spans are longer than those of mature differentiated cells. This makes it more likely that CSCs arise from stem cells, as it would take a long time for specialized adult cells to mutate in all the ways necessary for them to obtain the characteristics of cancer cells. Having a long enough lifespan to undergo the mutations needed to form tumors and undergo metastasis would be rare for a differentiated cell. Sox 2, an important factor in maintaining the pluripotent, undifferentiated state of stem cells, has been linked with the proliferation of cancer cells, and some treatments attempt to target sox 2.