[Leukemia stem cell]

Cancer is the main cause of death in advanced countries. It has become progressively clear that cancer cells are distributed in a developmental hierarchy, in which whole cancer tissues originate from cancer stem cells(CSCs). CSCs were first discovered in a case of acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia stem cells(LSCs)are resistant to conventional chemotherapies because of their dormancy and are therefore the cause of minimal residual disease and relapse. Many investigators are working to develop novel therapeutic strategies for eliminating LSCs. LSC biology is discussed in the first part of this review, and the therapeutic approach to LSC targeting is described in the latter part.