Fig. 1
From: Can precancerous stem cells be risk markers for malignant transformation in the oral mucosa?
Mutations accumulate in young stem cells of normal oral mucosa (lawn green). Mosaic patches result from age-dependent clonal proliferation of mutant stem cells via positive selection or neutral drift. The precancerous stem cells (pCSCs) may appear, and their persistence may lead to cancer initiation (turquoise). Clonal proliferation of cancer driver genes may lead to cancer stem cell (CSC) and cancer initiation (wheat). The core concept of the above hypothesis is referred to as the somatic mosaicism with age theory [7]