Arsenic-based Therapy Shown To Help Eradicate Leukemia-initiating Cells, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Study

BIDMC -- In both leukemia and solid tumors, there exists among the multitude of warrior cancer cells a small subgroup that work undercover, patiently lying in wait to launch their attacks. Known as either cancer initiating cells (CICs) or leukemia initiating cells (LICs), these stealth populations are impervious to conventional chemotherapy and undaunted by targeted cancer therapies. When a leukemia patient relapses following a period of remission, it is the LICs that bear responsibility for the disease’s reemergence.