CIHR's Institute of Cancer Research

Cancer: Not All Cells are Created Equal

Discovery of brain cancer stem cells

Scanning electron microscope image of human brain cells magnified 790 times

Finding
Stem cells are the basis for our healthy development - but what if they also help keep some cancers healthy? A Toronto-based research team was the first in the world to prove the existence of stem cells in brain cancer, a finding that helps explain why this cancer is so hard to defeat. The team isolated brain cancer stem cells in humans and demonstrated that as few as 100 of these cells can trigger tumour growth in mice.

Impact
Brain tumours, the leading cause of cancer death in children, are very difficult to treat. Identifying brain cancer stem cells is helping scientists develop new anti-cancer treatments that will target and kill the cells responsible for making the cancer grow.

Team
The research team was led by Dr. Peter Dirks of the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto.