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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2013 May 1;13(4):576–580. doi: 10.2174/1871520611313040006

Fig. 1. Cancer stem cells andb the microenvironment.

Fig. 1

Cancer stem cells are cancer cells that self-renew and differentiate and form tumors. There is a dynamic transition between cancer progenitor cells and cancer stem cells through differentiation and de-differentiation processes. Cancer stem cells are surrounded by cancer stem niche or tumor microenvironment components, such as extracellular matrix (collagen, fibronectin, etc, laminin, etc.) fibroblasts (cancer-associated fibroblasts); endothelial cells, blood vesssels, playing role in angiogenesis and lympangiogenesis; and immune cells, including neutrophils and lymphocytes and macrophages, playing a significant role in inflammation. Tumor microenvironment plays a significant role in cancer stem cell maintenance and transition from epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) and back (MET) transition