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Source: COPCAP

“We have probably traced the cells which are the root to new cancer cells. These cells have all suffered from the stem cell similar characteristics and this is our proof that they stem from cancer cells which behave as stem cells,” says Juio Celis to the newspaper.

Unlike ordinary stem cells which are producing new healthy breast cells there are only few cancer stem cells, these, however, are able to divide indefinitely and consequently cause an abundance of new and different cancer cells.

“Our results help us better understand the biology of the decease and now we are going to map how the cells behave and differ from normal cancer cells,” explains one of the researchers from The Danish Cancer Research project, José Moreira.

The new results may in the long term have decisive influence on the treatment of breast cancer.

“If looking at the decease as a tree we have so far treated the treetop and the trunk whereas it is more difficult to get the better of the root. When we can identify the cancer stem cells we will both be able to make better diagnosis as well as develop new medicine and target the treatment to the individual patient. In this way the decease will be like a tree that has been pulled up by its root,” says Julio Celis.