Impact of Dietary Interventions on Cancer Stem Cells

The researches in past one decade have identified cancer stem cells (CSCs) as a major culprit of recurrence, heterogeneity, metastasis, drug and radioresistance in cancer treatment. With the increasing awareness of the significance of a dietary intervention in human health, the research is also coevolving with the molecular understanding of association between diet and cancer. Cancer stem cells are a subpopulation of cancer cells with unique characteristics of self-renewal potential, aggressive invasiveness, promoting metastasis and demonstrated resistance against chemo- and radiotherapy. The preclinical data have clearly demonstrated the anticancer effects of dietary substances against CSCs. Series of dietary ingredients inhibit the CSC-associated signalling pathways and ultimately adversely affect maintenance of CSC stemness, survival and proliferation. To integrate the anti-CSCs dietary molecules with chemotherapy drugs, there is need to establish the safety and efficacy of these molecules by performing relevant clinical trials.