Table 1.
Cancer stem cell structure, associated unique genetic events and chemotherapy curability
| Metastatic malignancy | Cancer stem cell model | Associated unique genetic event | Chemotherapy curability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common epithelial cancers | Hierarchical | None | - |
| Gestational trophoblast tumours | Non-hierarchical | Nuclear fusion | +++ |
| Germ cell tumours | Non-hierarchical | Meiosis | +++ |
| Childhood malignancies | Non-hierarchical | Gastrulation | + |
| B and T cell malignancies | |||
| Acute undifferentiated leukemia | Hierarchical | None | - |
| Acute lymphocytic leukemia | Non-hierarchical | VDJ | +++ |
| ALK + ve T Cell lymphoma | Non-hierarchical | VDJ | ++ |
| Mantle cell lymphoma | Non-hierarchical | None | - |
| Diffuse large B Cell lymphoma | Non-hierarchical | SHM | ++ |
| Burkitt’s lymphoma | Non-hierarchical | SHM | ++ |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | Non-hierarchical | SHM | ++ |
| CLL | Non-hierarchical | None | - |
| Myeloma | Non-hierarchical | None | - |
| Mature T cell malignancies | Non-hierarchical | None | - |
The relationship of the cancer stem cell model, of being either hierarchical as in the common epithelial cancers or non-hierarchical without somatic stem derived cancer stem cells, the associated unique genetic events and the associated degree of chemotherapy curability are shown. For simplicity chemotherapy curability is shown on a zero to 3 star range