Prostate Cancer Cell Heterogeneity and Prostate Cancer Stem Cells

Prostate cancer, like most solid tumors, is a heterogeneous disease that contains many different types of cells. The cellular heterogeneity of prostate cancer likely represents one of the mechanisms for differential responses of cancer cells to androgen ablation and chemotherapy drugs. Here we succinctly summarize the evidence for prostate cancer stem cells, which are prostate cancer cells with certain stem cell properties. As prostate cancer stem cells seem to be less differentiated and may be involved in mediating metastasis, they may represent novel therapeutic targets in the clinic.