Cancer stem cells produced by reverting cancer cells with hydrogel innovation

A double network (DN) hydrogel developed by researchers form Hokkaido University (Japan) and the National Cancer Center Research Institute (Tokyo, Japan) has successfully reverted cancer cells back to cancer stem cells (CSCs)  within 24 hours, in six different human cancer types. Thus providing a foundation for the development of anti-CSC drugs and personalized medicines. Findings are reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. CSCs are resistant to chemotherapies and radiotherapies, and these cells can hide as 'roots' or circulate in the body, causing cancer recurrence. This makes CSCs a key target to increase the effectiveness of cancer therapy. "CSCs are a major...