benign lesions tagged posts

The green-labelled cells show a basal cell carcinoma in mouse tail epidermis derived from a single mutant stem cell and expanding out of the normal epidermis stained in red. Credit: Adriana Sánchez-Danés

Scientists have identified for the first time the ‘cell of origin’ – in ie the first cell from which the cancer grows – in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, and followed the chain of events that lead to the growth of these invasive tumours. Our skin is kept healthy by a constant turnover. The process is maintained by ‘progenitor’ cells – the progeny of stem cells – that divide and ‘differentiate’ into fully-functional skin cells to replenish dying skin...