Concise Review: Emerging Concepts in Clinical Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Zeshann A. Rasheed, Johns Hopkins University; Jeanne Kowalski, Emory University; B. Douglas Smith, Johns Hopkins University; William Matsui, Johns Hopkins University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-06-01
• Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © AlphaMed Press.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/stem.648
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: STEM CELLS
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 883
• End Page: 887
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (ZAR, JK, BDS, WM), the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (ZAR), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (JK, BDS, WM), the Lustgarten Foundation (WM), and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (WM).
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; INTERFERON-ALPHA; OLDER PATIENTS; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Hematology; Oncology; CHRONIC MYELOID-LEUKEMIA; CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA; Drug resistance; BREAST-CANCER; MULTIPLE-MYELOMA; Metastasis; Antineoplastic agents; Cell & Tissue Engineering; IMATINIB; HEDGEHOG PATHWAY; Cancer stem cells; CHEMOTHERAPY; Science & Technology; Cell Biology; TUMOR-INITIATING CELLS
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Oncology; Biology, Cell

Abstract

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are functionally defined by their ability to self-renew and recapitulate tumors in the ectopic setting. They have been identified in a growing number of human malignancies and their association with poor clinical outcomes has suggested that they are the major factors in dictating clinical outcomes. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated that CSCs may display other functional attributes, such as drug resistance and invasion and migration, that implicate a broad role in clinical oncology spanning initial tumor formation, relapse following treatment, and disease progression. Although our knowledge regarding the basic biology of CSCs continues to improve, proof that they are clinically relevant is still lacking, and translation of the CSC hypothesis from the laboratory to the clinic is of paramount importance. We will review current evidence supporting the role of CSCs in clinical oncology and discuss potential barriers and strategies in designing trials examining CSC-targeting agents.