Cancer stem cells – important players in tumor therapy resistance

• Published in: The FEBS journal Vol. 281; no. 21; pp. 4779 - 4791
• Main Authors: Colak, Selcuk, Medema, Jan P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-11-2014
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Monoclonal - pharmacology; Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; Antigens, Differentiation - analysis; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Apoptosis - drug effects; cancer; cancer stem cell; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; chemotherapy; DNA Repair; DNA, Neoplasm - drug effects; DNA, Neoplasm - genetics; Drug Design; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - physiology; Heterografts; Humans; Medical research; Mice; Molecular Targeted Therapy; Neoplasm Proteins - physiology; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Neoplastic Stem Cells - drug effects; Neoplastic Stem Cells - physiology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - radiation effects; Radiation Tolerance - physiology; Receptors, Notch - physiology; Recurrence; resistance; Stem cells; tumor‐initiating cells; Wnt Signaling Pathway - physiology; tumor-initiating cells; cancer; cancer stem cell; chemotherapy; resistance
• ISSN: 1742-464X; 1742-4658
• DOI: 10.1111/febs.13023

Resistance to tumor therapy is an unsolved problem in cancer treatment. A plethora of studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon and many mechanisms of resistance have been suggested over recent decades. The concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which describes tumors as hierarchically organized, has added a new level of complexity to therapy failure. CSCs are the root of cancers and resist chemo‐ and radiotherapy, explaining cancer recurrence even many years after therapy is ended. This review discusses briefly CSCs in cancers, gives an overview of the role of CSCs in therapy resistance, and discusses the potential means of targeting these therapy‐resistant tumor cells.
Resistance to tumor therapy is an unsolved problem in cancer treatment. The concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has added a new level of complexity to tumor therapy failure. This review discusses briefly CSCs in cancers, gives an overview of the role of CSCs in therapy resistance, and discusses the potential means of targeting these therapy resistant tumor cells.