"Dormant cells" are cells that are currently inactive or resting. They are not actively dividing or carrying out their normal functions. Full definition
They believe that zolpidem (marketed as Ambien) activates dormant cells in the brain. (newscientist.com)
Specifically, they found that chemotherapy alone leads to two types of dormant cancer cells that are not killed outright and become resistant to additional chemotherapy, but when combined with immunotherapy, a majority of dormant cells also is destroyed. (sciencedaily.com)
«These are not dormant cells — they divide once every six or seven weeks as opposed to every other day like the rest of the melanoma cells,» Herlyn explained. (sciencedaily.com)