CM1106 STEMCHEM : chemical approaches to targeting drug resistance cancer stem cells

Abstract

STEMCHEM is a COST action aiming to target causes of drug resistance in cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are cells which are believed to be responsible for the larger part of the regenerative capacity of cancers. They are also thought to be similar to adult stem cells in that they do not proliferate most of the time and are thus resistant to many kinds of chemotherapy. The action brings together labs around Europe in both biological and chemical fields to work together in this regard. Biologists targeting individual stem-cell related molecules as well as stem cell phenotypes (like the un-diff erentiated state), test chemicals from numerous labs for activity in high throughput screens, with the aim of identifying new drug targets. This COST action, like most others, o ffers opportunities for Malta, both in a general way and also particularly for a small country with small labs.