Powerful bladder cancer cells found

A set of powerful cells in bladder tumors seem to be responsible for the cancer growing and spreading elsewhere, scientists in Baltimore said.

The findings could help researchers develop new ways of locating and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer, scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said Friday.

Scientists have long suspected that a subset of cells in cancerous tumors act much like stem cells, which spur organ development early in life and remain present to repair or replace injured and aging tissues, Dr. David Berman reported in the July issue of Stem Cells.

The power cells found in bladder tumors are similar to stem cells, with both having an unlimited lifespan and a propensity to migrate through tissues. If scientists had a way to identify and target cancer cells with these properties, the population that sustains tumors and makes them grow could be eliminated, Berman said.