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World J Stem Cells. Mar 26, 2015; 7(2): 461-469
Published online Mar 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i2.461
Using induced pluripotent stem cells as a tool for modelling carcinogenesis
Emma L Curry, Mohammad Moad, Craig N Robson, Rakesh Heer
Emma L Curry, Mohammad Moad, Craig N Robson, Rakesh Heer, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Paul O’Gorman Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, NE2 4HH Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Curry EL, Moad M, Robson CN and Heer R contributed to this paper.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Rakesh Heer, Clinician Scientist Fellow, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Paul O’Gorman Building, Medical School, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, NE2 4HH Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. rakesh.heer@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-191-2084300
Received: August 14, 2014
Peer-review started: August 15, 2014
First decision: September 28, 2014
Revised: October 29, 2014
Accepted: October 31, 2014
Article in press: November 3, 2014
Published online: March 26, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a novel method for studying the mechanisms of cancer development and progression. Recently, a number of studies have generated iPSCs from human cancer cells and cell lines, which can then be used as a model for carcinogenesis. This review outlines the similarities that exist between pluripotent and malignant cells and summarizes available studies that have generated iPSC models of cancer.