Paola Brescia
Italy
Review Article
Identification of Glioma Stem Cells: What is Already Known and How Far do We Still Need to Go? The Biomarkers Dilemma
Author(s): Paola Brescia, Cristina Richichi and Giuliana PelicciPaola Brescia, Cristina Richichi and Giuliana Pelicci
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been isolated in multiple tumour types and although the presence of surface markers selectively expressed on CSCs can be used to isolate these cells, no marker or pattern of markers are sufficiently robust to definitively identify CSCs. Several markers have been evaluated for their prognostic value with promising early results, however to date none has been proven to be clinically useful in large-scale studies. A major need exists to identify markers of CSCs for glioblastoma (GBM), which would yield new therapeutic interventions. Given the complex genetic and epigenetic heterogeneity of human GBMs, it is unlikely that the expression of a single marker will define CSCs in every tumour, hence a combination of markers will probably best define glioma tumour stem cells. The studies reported in the literature regarding the identification of specific cell surfa.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2157-2518.S1-003