Question ID: WS-89
Submitted by: Raymond Petryshyn
April 11, 2011
Should the ability to kill cancer stem cells be a principal characteristic for selection or development of any chemotherapeutic agent? Background: Only infrequently and only in certain disseminated cancers does chemotherapy result in complete cure. Most chemotherapeutics agents are selected because of their ability to shrink tumors and reduce tumor burden. Despite complete responses and longer periods of progression free survival, tumors eventually reoccur and often no longer respond to treatment. There is growing evidence that resistant cancer stem cells are a reservoir for repopulating tumors even after complete destruction by chemotherapy. Feasibility: Identifying and understanding the biology of the cancer stem cell is becoming a focus in cancer biology. There are examples where cancer stem cells have been identified and are being characterized. New research will shed light on the susceptibility of cancer stem cells to various therapies and what this means to the rate of cancer recurrence and overall survival. Such studies could be conducted in real-time during clinical trials of all phases. Implications for success: Testing existing therapies and new anticancer agents for their ability to kill cancer stem cells would be a new concept to treating the most aggressive and non-responsive cancers. The cancer stem cell could be a surrogate biomarker for predicting the most effective treatments and overall survival or as a target for developing new agents.
Average Score: 5.0
 (1 evaluation)Provocativeness - 5.0
Novelty - 4.0
Public Health Significance - 5.0
Feasibility - 5.0
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