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Self-renewal is a distinct feature shared by stem cells and cancer cells but the evidence of a common transcription program remains controversial. By comparing mouse and human ESC-like gene modules, a recent study has defined a panel of 335 genes as the "core ESC-like gene module." These genes were often induced in many aggressive human epithelial cancers. Tumors with the ESC-activated signature were significantly associated with poorer tumor differentiation, and more frequent progress to metastasis, as well as higher mortality rates. These findings suggest that activation of an ESC-like transcriptional program in differentiated adult cells may induce pathologic self-renewal characteristics of cancer.
