In addition to in vivo and in vitro experiments, our group applied paclitaxel to cells suspended in culture in serum-free medium containing epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), Noggin and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) to successfully screen ovarian cancer stem cells, with characteristic expression of CDl33+ and CD117+, and identified their specific markers and biological characteristics (9). The gene discussed is LIF; the disease is ovarian cancer.