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Science 26 June 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5935, pp. 1670 - 1673
DOI: 10.1126/science.1171837
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Review

The Increasing Complexity of the Cancer Stem Cell Paradigm

Jeffrey M. Rosen1 and Craig T. Jordan2

The investigation and study of cancer stem cells (CSCs) have received enormous attention over the past 5 to 10 years but remain topics of considerable controversy. Opinions about the validity of the CSC hypothesis, the biological properties of CSCs, and the relevance of CSCs to cancer therapy differ widely. In the following commentary, we discuss the nature of the debate, the parameters by which CSCs can or cannot be defined, and the identification of new potential therapeutic targets elucidated by considering cancer as a problem in stem cell biology.

1 Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
2 James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)