Figure 1.

Characteristics that define the stem phenotype in cancer. Cancer cells can transition between a state of stemness and non-stemness generated by multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations, the tumor microenvironment, and the activation of signaling programs such as EMT. These processes allow cancer cells to acquire the ability to metastasize, express membrane proteins or specific intracellular molecules, self-renew, have a high tumorigenic capacity in vivo, and generate resistance to many conventional cancer treatments.