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Cancer

Division hierarchy leads to cell heterogeneity

Nature volume 549, pages 164–166 (2017)Cite this article

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Cellular diversity can hamper cancer treatment. Analysis of tumour cell-division patterns now reveals how such heterogeneity can arise by a hierarchical pattern of stem-cell divisions yielding a mosaic of different cells. See Article p.227

The heterogeneity of the diverse and evolving mosaic of cells that form a tumour can be a major clinical problem because it means that some cells might dodge the effects of treatment. It has been proposed1,2,3 that cancer stem cells (CSCs, also known as cancer-initiating cells), which can be genetically identical to other cells in the tumour, are distinguished by key functional properties, including their capacity to self-renew and to initiate tumours. CSCs exhibit stem-cell-like characteristics and are considered to be responsible for the ability of tumours to spread to other parts of the body and develop resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy1,2,3. On page 227, Lan et al.4 provide insight into the role of CSCs in brain tumours, monitoring the division patterns of individual cells to investigate their fate and how cellular heterogeneity can arise.

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Figure 1: Tracking cellular heterogeneity in cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Vall d'Hebron Barcelona University Hospital Campus, Natzaret, 08035, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Seoane

  2. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona

    Joan Seoane

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  1. Joan Seoane
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Correspondence to Joan Seoane.

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Seoane, J. Division hierarchy leads to cell heterogeneity. Nature 549, 164–166 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23546

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