Research progress on brain tumor stem cells.

Brain tumors are among the most devastating and tractable tumors in humans1 Recent studies indicate that there is a small subpopulation of cells in brain tumors resembling neural stem cells; only these critical cells can maintain the growth of brain tumors ,which are called brain tumor stem cells (BTSC) .In this review ,we expound the content of this hypothesis, probe into the evidences indicating existence of BTSC, the biological characteristics of BTSC, the identification of BTSC and its likely origin1 The value and future of this study are analyzed as well.