Suspension culture combined with anticancer regimens for screening breast cancer stem cells

Summary 

Breast cancer stem cells (BrCSCs)have been first identified in solid tumors. To be more exact, they are defined as tumorigenic cancer cells which exhibit the capacity to form tumors distinct from the majority non-tumorigenic cancer cells. However it is only a minor subset that cancer stem cells are highly enriched in. It is still unknown how to find the definitive research subject – “a single breast cancer stem cell” – that can cause a new tumor by itself. Since recent studies suggest that BrCSCs have a higher proportion in suspension culture and have a greater resistance to chemotherapy regimens, we propose a novel strategy to isolate and identify BrCSCs:suspension culture combined with anticancer regimens. This double sorting method by means of the unique properties of BrCSCs may be helpful to screen genuine cancer stem cells(CSCs).

Abbreviations: BrCSCs, breast cancer stem cells, CSCS, cancer stem cells, SP, side population, ABC, ATP-binding cassette