Stem Cells: In-Depth Focus 2014

• Mesenchymal stem cells in cancer therapy: our chance to take charge
  (Author: Sarah Baird, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Otago)
  A tumour is made up of more than the mutated cancer cells themselves. All other contributing cells, collectively known as the ‘tumour stroma’, are now widely acknowledged to take a driving role both in the early development and metastasis of the tumour. One such tumour stromal cell type, the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC), which homes to the tumour from the bone marrow, is playing an increasingly important role in our understanding of the formation of the tumour, our ability to manipulate it and in the provision of promising therapeutic strategies…
• Ovarian cancer stem cells – an essential target for durable remission
  (Authors: Graham Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Novogen / Gil Mor, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine)
  A consensus panel convened by the American Association of Cancer Research in 2006 defined a cancer stem cell (CSC) as “a cell within a tumour that possesses the capacity to self-renew and to cause the heterogeneous lineages of cancer cells that comprise the tumour.” Eight years on, the role of the CSC in cancer biology remains only marginally better defined. There is little argument that many, if not most, tumour phenotypes are heterogeneous tissues comprised of a spectrum of cells of variable phenotype, genotype and behaviour…
• Event preview: ISSCR
  The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 12th Annual Meeting will take place from 18 – 21 June 2014 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The meeting will bring together approximately 4,000 stem cell scientists, bioethicists, clinicians and industry professionals from over 50 countries to present and discuss the latest research and technologies within the field.