Seven-year study pays off with ‘most detailed’ picture of head and neck cancer stem cells to date

Cancer stem cells resist therapy and are a major cause of relapse, long after the bulk of a tumor has been killed. A new study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of head and neck cancer stem cells, identifying genetic pathways that cancer stem cells hijack to promote tumor growth and visualizing the process of “asymmetric division” that allows a stem cell to create tumor tissue cells while retaining its own stem-like profile.