1. Targeting stemness of cancer stem cells to fight colorectal cancers
- Author
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Lei Du, Lei Liu, Quan Chen, Hao Zheng, Jinming Liu, and Qi Cheng
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Cancer Research ,Colorectal cancer ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Tumor initiation ,Metastasis ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cancer stem cell ,Cell Line, Tumor ,medicine ,Humans ,business.industry ,Cancer ,Immunotherapy ,medicine.disease ,Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ,030104 developmental biology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Cancer cell ,Neoplastic Stem Cells ,Cancer research ,Stem cell ,Colorectal Neoplasms ,business - Abstract
Cancer initiating/ stem cells (CSCs) undergo self-renewal and differentiation that contributes to tumor initiation, recurrence and metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Targeting of colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs) holds significant promise in eradicating cancer cells and ultimately curing patients with cancer. In this review, we will introduce the current progress of CCSC studies, including the specific surface markers of CCSCs, the intrinsic signaling pathways that regulate the stemness and differentiation characteristics of CCSCs, and the tumor organoid model for CCSC research. We will focus on how these studies will lead to the progress in targeting specific surface markers or signaling pathways on CCSCs by monoclonal antibodies, or by natural or synthetic compounds, or by immunotherapy. As CSCs are highly heterogeneous and plastic, we suggest that combinatory approaches that target the stemness network may represent an important strategy for eradicating cancers.
- Published
- 2022