RESUMO

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess the capacity to self-renew and to generate heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells that comprise tumors. A substantial body of evidence supports a model in which CSCs play a major role in the initiation, maintenance, and clinical outcome of cancers. In contrast, analysis of the role of CSCs in metastasis has been mainly conceptual and speculative. This review summarizes recent data that support the theory of CSCs as the source of metastatic lesions in breast cancer, with a focus on the key role of the microenvironment in the stemness-metastasis link.

Assuntos

Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Neoplasias da Mama/prevenção & controle , Células-Tronco Neoplásicas/efeitos dos fármacos , Células-Tronco Neoplásicas/efeitos da radiação , Feminino , Humanos , Metástase Neoplásica , Células-Tronco Neoplásicas/patologia