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Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Isolation and Functional Assessment of Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Cell and Tissue Samples
Published on: October 2, 2020
Breast Cancer Stem Cells
Judy S Crabtree1, Lucio Miele2
1Department of Genetics and the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. jcrabt@lsuhsc.edu.
Abstract:
Breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) have been implicated in tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to therapy. The origins of BCSCs remain controversial due to tumor heterogeneity and the presence of such small side populations for study, but nonetheless, cell surface markers and their correlation with BCSC functionality continue to be identified. BCSCs are driven by persistent activation of developmental pathways, such as Notch, Wnt, Hippo, and Hedgehog and new treatment strategies that are aimed at these pathways are in preclinical and clinical development.
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