肿瘤中存在肿瘤干细胞。肿瘤干细胞数目极少,却对肿瘤发生、转移起决定性的作用。肿瘤干细胞是一种特殊类型的干细胞,具备高度增殖能力与自我更新能力,可以多向分化为包括肿瘤细胞在内的各种细胞的子细胞,其结果是维持肿瘤干细胞数目稳定并产生肿瘤。本文介绍了肿瘤干细胞的历史、特征以及与成体干细胞的关系,最后对肿瘤干细胞理论在肿瘤临床的意义进行了初步的阐述。 Tumor stem cells exist in the tumor. The number of cancer stem cells is very small, but it plays a decisive role in tumorigenesis and metastasis. Tumor stem cells are a special type of stem cells with high proliferative ability and self-renewal ability. They can differentiate into multiple cells including various kinds of cells including tumor cells. The result is to maintain the stable number of tumor stem cells and generate tumor. This article describes the history of cancer stem cells, features and relationship with adult stem cells, and finally the significance of cancer stem cell theory in the clinical presentation of the tumor.