The discovery of cancer stems cells answers a lot of questions. Most importantly, it tells us why cancers are so difficult to cure, and why they can recur even decades after they were thought to have been eradicated.

Only a few cancer stem cells have to remain for the tumor to recur, so it may falsely appear that the tumor has been destroyed.

Like normal stem cells, cancer stem cells can sometimes enter a dormant state, remaining inert for very long periods and giving false assurance of a cure.

One thing that will reactivate dormant cancer stem cells is continuous inflammation.

Ironically, all chemotherapy drugs cause intense inflammation, which may explain why when cancers recur after such treatment they are much more aggressive and deadly than they originally were.

There is evidence that adding natural extracts that kill cancer stem cells significantly enhances the effectiveness of traditional cancer treatments.