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Characterization of self-renewing “cancer stem cells,” coupled with the tools of molecular genetics, has enhanced our understanding of the malignant process. Researchers identified a subpopulation of tumorigenic breast cancer cells based on the differential expression of certain cell surface proteins (CD44+CD24–/low). They used micro-array analysis to characterize the gene-expression profiles of these cells and compare them with expression profiles in normal breast epithelium and then determined whether the expression profiles were associated with overall and metastasis-free survival in breast cancer patients.
Differential expression of 186 genes by the CD44+CD24–/low cells yielded an invasiveness gene signature (IGS). The IGS had little or …