Why bowel cancer sometimes outsmarts treatment
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that bowel cancer may not be restricted to starting its journey in the stem cells in the lining of the intestines as previously thought. The researchers, based at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, studied a hereditary faulty gene which can cause bowel cancer in middle age. The faulty gene causes normal cells to behave like immortal stem cells and develop tumours of their own- challenging the theory that normal cells have a fixed fate and limited lifespan. The cells lining the bowel are continuously replaced — new ‘daughter’ cells are produced by immortal stem cells to replace those that have worn out. …