What are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are cells that can reproduce themselves and give rise to other kinds of cells.
Most cells in our bodies are not stem cells. Some, like blood precursor cells, can give rise
to various kinds of blood cells, but can't reproduce themselves. Others, like nerve cells,
simply stop dividing at all and last most of our lives. Stem cells are the seed corn of our
organs and tissues. When we get a cut on the finger or when old blood cells need to be
replaced, stem cells in the skin or in the bone marrow swing into action and create the skin
or blood cells that bring the body back to normal. Every organ in our body has stem cells
that have the capacity to repair that organ, although stem cells are less active as we get
older and in some organs or tissues are not very active at all for most of our lives. If we
learn how to activate or reactive tissue specific stem cells, we may be able to repair the
damage that accumulates due to disease or aging.

The Stem Cell Theory of Cancer

The stem cell theory of cancer proposes that among all cancerous cells, a
few act as stem cells that reproduce themselves and sustain the cancer,
much like normal stem cells normally renew and sustain our organs and
tissues. In this view, cancer cells that are not stem cells can cause
problems, but they cannot sustain an attack on our bodies over the long
term.
One component of the cancer stem cell theory concerns how cancers arise.
In order for a cell to become cancerous, it must undergo a significant
number of essential changes in the DNA sequences that regulate the cell.
Conventional cancer theory is that any cell in the body can undergo these
changes and become a cancerous outlaw. But researchers at the Ludwig
Center observe that our normal stem cells are the only cells that reproduce
themselves and are therefore around long enough to accumulate all the
necessary changes to produce cancer. The theory, therefore, is that cancer
stem cells arise out of normal stem cells or the precursor cells that normal
stem cells produce.

http://med.stanford.edu/ludwigcenter/overview/cancer.html
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