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Science 14 December 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5857, p. 1722
DOI: 10.1126/science.1149590
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Technical Comments

Comment on "Tumor Growth Need Not Be Driven by Rare Cancer Stem Cells"

James A. Kennedy,1,2 Frédéric Barabé,3,4,5 Armando G. Poeppl,1 Jean C. Y. Wang,1,6,7 John E. Dick1,2*

Kelly et al. (Brevia, 20 July 2007, p. 337) questioned xenotransplant experiments supporting the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis because they found a high frequency of leukemia-initiating cells (L-IC) in some transgenic mouse models. However, the CSC hypothesis depends on prospective purification of cells with tumor-initiating capacity, irrespective of frequency. Moreover, we found similar L-IC frequencies in genetically comparable leukemias using syngeneic or xenogeneic models.

1 Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
2 Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
3 Department of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada.
4 Department of Hematology, Enfant-Jesus Hospital, Québec, Canada.
5 Research Center in Infectious Diseases, Centre Hospitalier Universìtaire de Québec/Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
6 Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Department of Medicine, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
7 Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jdick{at}uhnres.utoronto.ca

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)