1 Introduction to Breast Cancer -- 2 Stem Cells and Cancer Stem Cells -- 3 Breast Cancer Stem Cell Identification and Isolation -- 4 Breast Cancer Stem Cell Culture and Proliferation -- 5 Breast Cancer Stem Cell Properties -- 6 Targeting Breast Cancer Stem Cells -- 7 Breast Cancer Stem Cells and Circulating Tumor Cells -- 8 Conclusion.

This volume thoroughly examines breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), from basic definitions to techniques for identifying, isolating, culturing, and targeting BCSCs for therapy; there is additional focus on pre-clinical and clinical results. The text begins with a discussion of breast cancer, focusing especially on the limitations of current therapies in its treatment. The subsequent chapters introduce and compare stem cells and cancer stem cells, describe properties and isolation techniques of BCSCs, and examine BCSC-targeting approaches. The text concludes with a discussion of controversy surrounding the BCSC hypothesis and of future research directions. Breast Cancer Stem Cells & Therapy Resistance, part of the SpringerBriefs in Stem Cells series, provides a succinct yet comprehensive overview of BCSCs for advanced students, graduate students and researchers as well as those working with breast cancer or stem cells in a clinical setting.