The effects of mesenchymal stem cells on the chemotherapy of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has been the third commonest cancer in the world. The prognosis of patients with CRC is related to the molecular subtypes and gene mutations, which is prone to recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a group of progenitor ones with the capabilities of self-renewal， multi-directional differentiation, and tissue re-population, which could be isolated from various kinds of tissues and be differentiated into diverse cell types. In recent years, MSCs are applied for mechanisms study of tissue repairing, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and autoimmune-related disease, and tumor development, with the advantages of anti‐inflammation, multi-lineage differentiation, and homing capability. Integrating the chemotherapy and MSCs therapy might provide a novel treatment approach for CRC patients. In this review, we summarize the current progress in the integrated treatment of integrating the MSCs and chemotherapy for CRC. [Display omitted] • MSCs process tumor homing and immunomodulatory properties, providing new ideas for the anti-cancer therapies. • MSCs and their exosomes have shown the therapeutic roles in CRC. • Chemotherapeutic drugs and genes can be carried by MSCs to reduce the toxicity for CRC therapy. • The combination of MSCs and chemotherapy can decrease the drug resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]