2015 Gordon Research Conference: Stem Cells & Cancer

The meeting included a full discussion of Cancer Stem Cells. There is new information about heterogeneity of cancer cells. Some cells in the tumor have the ability to remake the tumor upon transplantation. But some tumors have clonal heterogeneity, and this leads to particular clones being resistant to therapy. In the leukemia model, epigenetic regulators like DNMT3a controls clonal dynamics. In some organs, signaling pathways can direct such plasticity. An interesting case was Notch ligand antibodies that convert cilia fate in the lung. Circulating cancer cells is also another form of heterogeneity, and these cells lead to metastasis. The event of metastasis is selection in the niche. The conference was a big success at discussing cancer cell heterogeneity.