The concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs) provides a new paradigm for understanding cancer biology. Cancer stem cells are defined as a minority of cancer cells with stem cell properties responsible for maintenance and growth of tumors. The targeting of CSCs is a potential therapeutic strategy to combat ovarian cancer. Ovarian epithelial cancer cells cultured in serum-free medium can form sphere cells. These sphere cells may be enriched for cancer stem cells (CSCs). The isolation of sphere cells from solid tumors is an important technique in studying cancer cell biology. Here we describe the isolation of sphere cells from primary ovarian cancer tissue, ascites fluid, and the cancer cell line SKOV3 with stem cell selection medium.
