Deep within the spongy marrow that fills large bones lie cells that give rise to all the body's blood cells. These primitive cells, called haematopoietic stem cells, have the unique ability to divide indefinitely, making them essentially immortal. Mounting evidence suggests that similarly immortal cells drive some types of leukaemia and other cancers. Just as haematopoietic stem cells can produce a vast array of blood cells, leukaemia stem cells generate the diversity of malignant cells seen in cancer.
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