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Review
. 2018 Dec 26;10(12):183-195.
doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v10.i12.183.

Cancer stem cell impact on clinical oncology

Mariel E Toledo-Guzmán  1 , Gabriele D Bigoni-Ordóñez  1 , Miguel Ibáñez Hernández  2 , Elizabeth Ortiz-Sánchez  3
Affiliations
Review

Cancer stem cell impact on clinical oncology

Mariel E Toledo-Guzmán et al. World J Stem Cells. .

Abstract

Cancer is a widespread worldwide chronic disease. In most cases, the high mortality rate from cancer correlates with a lack of clear symptoms, which results in late diagnosis for patients, and consequently, advanced tumor disease with poor probabilities for cure, since many patients will show chemo- and radio-resistance. Several mechanisms have been studied to explain chemo- and radio-resistance to anti-tumor therapies, including cell signaling pathways, anti-apoptotic mechanisms, stemness, metabolism, and cellular phenotypes. Interestingly, the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are a subset of cells within the tumors, has been related to therapy resistance. In this review, we focus on evaluating the presence of CSCs in different tumors such as breast cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, and hematological neoplasias, highlighting studies where CSCs were identified in patient samples. It is evident that there has been a great drive to identify the cell surface phenotypes of CSCs so that they can be used as a tool for anti-tumor therapy treatment design. We also review the potential effect of nanoparticles, drugs, natural compounds, aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitors, cell signaling inhibitors, and antibodies to treat CSCs from specific tumors. Taken together, we present an overview of the role of CSCs in tumorigenesis and how research is advancing to target these highly tumorigenic cells to improve oncology patient outcomes.

Keywords: Cancer; Cancer stem cells; Clinical outcome; Drug resistance; Targeted therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of common cancer stem cell markers. CD133, CD44, CD24 and CD49f are common phenotype markers used for the identification of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and their isolation from tissue samples from cancer patients, such as the stomach, lung, liver, ovary, breast, prostate and colon carcinoma. In addition, the metabolic and functional marker aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is represented in CSCs derived from ovarian carcinoma, colon carcinoma, breast, lung and liver cancer. The CSC markers shown have a specific and relevant function in the high tumorigenic capacity of CSCs, metastasis, and resistance to radio- and chemotherapy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Drugs that may target cancer stem cells. Promising therapeutics to treat cancer patients. The flowchart highlights the new and more promising cancer therapies that can be directed toward cancer stem cells to eliminate them. CSC: Cancer stem cell.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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