Stem cells cause and can cure Cancer?

Finding out what causes that genetic mutation has been the holy grail of medical science for decades. Researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology believe they may have found one of the reasons why these genes mutate and it all has to do with how stem cells talk to each other.The landmark studies by Texas A&M researchers Fen Wang, Ph.D., and Wallace McKeehan, Ph.D.,  studied a family of proteins that communicate between cells called fibroblast growth factor (FGF). This new research shows that errors in the way FGF is transmitted and received by cells can activate previously dormant stem cells in an organ, which can cause cancer.
"FGF is truly the Cinderella of cancer research. For decades it has been overlooked by big pharmaceutical companies because its role in cells is so complex. Now that we are starting to understand it, everyone is rushing to pay attention to the new star," said Wang, director of the Texas A&M Center for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology. Nearly every cell in the body expresses the FGF protein, but there are 22 different types, so researchers have struggled to understand their role in cell communication. Until recently it has been a mystery as to how one of the 22 different types of FGF were sent out by cell expressers and taken in by cell receivers.
Recent research has shown that FGF appears to play a major role in breast and prostate cancer, which is why the duo decided to focus on the protein's role. Wang and McKeehan discovered the specific pathways FGF uses to activate stem cells or to keep them dormant. This discovery has major implications for future cancer therapies."Current cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation only target actively proliferating cancer cells," Wang explained. "If we can control how cancerous stem cells remain dormant and how they are activated, we can cure cancer. The research is still in the very early stages but we have hope."