Article,
Cancer Stem Cells: An Overview
Advances in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 5 (1): 13 (February 2020)
DOI: 10.29011/2574-7258.001097
Abstract
Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are drug-refractory subgroup of cells within a tumor having proliferative autonomy, differentiation potential, and can recapitulate the primary tumor heterogeneity after transplanting into an immunocompromised host. The intra-tumor heterogeneity caused by these immortal cells poses a challenge for cancer therapy. Understanding the genetic and epigenetic anomalies, and multifaceted mechanisms involved in immune evasion, cellular plasticity, role of extracellular vesicle cargo in the crosstalk between tumor niche and CSCs, would facilitate designing novel therapeutic strategies that exclusively target this quiescent and metabolically distinct subgroup from the heterogeneous tumors. This review summarizes models for tumor heterogeneity, effectors for cellular plasticity, CSC characteristics responsible for therapeutic refractoriness, isolation and novel approaches for targeting this subgroup from rest of the tumor for improving patient’s survival.
