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.peer-reviewe
