The Implications of Cancer Stem Cells for Cancer Therapy

摘要: Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are universally recognized as the most effective anti-cancer therapies. Despite significant advances directed towards elucidating molecular mechanisms developing clinical trials, cancer still remains a major public health issue. Recent studies have showed that stem cells (CSCs), small subpopulation of tumor cells, can generate bulk populations nontumorigenic cell progeny through self-renewal differentiation processes. As CSCs proposed to persist in tumors distinct population cause relapse metastasis by giving rise new tumors, development CSC-targeted therapeutic strategies holds hope for improving survival quality life patients with cancer. Therapeutic innovations will emerge from better understanding biology environment CSCs, which, however, largely unexplored. This review summarizes characteristics, evidences well implications challenges treatment.