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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Studying Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics for Developing New Treatment Strategies
Published on: June 20, 2015
Tumour stem cells and drug resistance
Michael Dean1, Tito Fojo, Susan Bates
1Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA. dean@ncifcrf.gov
Abstract:
The contribution of tumorigenic stem cells to haematopoietic cancers has been established for some time, and cells possessing stem-cell properties have been described in several solid tumours. Although chemotherapy kills most cells in a tumour, it is believed to leave tumour stem cells behind, which might be an important mechanism of resistance. For example, the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) drug transporters have been shown to protect cancer stem cells from chemotherapeutic agents. Gaining a better insight into the mechanisms of stem-cell resistance to chemotherapy might therefore lead to new therapeutic targets and better anticancer strategies.
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