Cancer stem cells responsible for metastasis identified: HK study, Xinhua News Agency, June 4, 2010. Excerpt:

Hong Kong researchers have identified a subset of cancer stem cells responsible for metastasis in human colorectal cancer which can help better predict the prognosis and design a more suitable treatment for patients, according to a study made public by the University of Hong Kong on Friday.

The researchers from the university's medicine school discovered that cancer stem cells with a surface marker CD26, which marks a subset of cancer stem cells with metastatic capacity, are present in all terminal colon cancer cells and all metastatic cancer cells.

This news item is about the publication: A Subpopulation of CD26+ Cancer Stem Cells with Metastatic Capacity in Human Colorectal Cancer by Roberta Pang and 13 co-authors, including Wai Lun Law, Ronnie T Poon and Benjamin CY Wong [photos of authors], Cell Stem Cell 2010(Jun 4); 6(6): 603-15. [Summary][Twitter entry][Commentary][FriendFeed entry][Science Pond entry].