Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, National Ministry of Education; Provincial Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, China.
Clin Transl Oncol. 2013 Apr;15(4):253-8. doi: 10.1007/s12094-012-0927-7. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
A small population of cancer cells referred to as cancer stem cells (CSCs) have received particular attention, as they have been revealed to acquire stem cell-like properties and become the main cause of tumor propagation, metastasis and drug resistance. The CSC theory of tumor formation was believed to follow the hierarchical model initially, and therefore many CSC-targeted therapy methods were expected to cure cancer by eradicating CSCs. However, subsequent CSC research has revealed that rather than a distinct entity, the CSC is a dynamic status that can be continually dedifferentiated from progenitor or differentiated cancer cells. Elucidation of this bidirectional transition mechanism would help perfect the CSC theory and be of great value in the development of more effective anti-cancer drugs. Here, we reviewed the mechanisms of reciprocal conversion between non-CSCs and CSCs. Moreover, several approaches of target CSCs and non-CSCs together with unbiased eradication of all cancer cells are also discussed.
一小部分被称为癌症干细胞（CSCs）的癌细胞引起了特别关注，因为它们已经显示出获得干细胞样特性，并成为肿瘤增殖、转移和耐药的主要原因。肿瘤形成的 CSC 理论最初被认为遵循分级模型，因此许多针对 CSC 的治疗方法有望通过消除 CSCs 来治愈癌症。然而，随后的 CSC 研究表明，CSC 不是一个明确的实体，而是一种可以从祖细胞或分化的癌细胞不断去分化的动态状态。阐明这种双向转化机制将有助于完善 CSC 理论，并在开发更有效的抗癌药物方面具有重要价值。在这里，我们回顾了非 CSCs 和 CSCs 之间相互转化的机制。此外，还讨论了几种靶向 CSCs 和非 CSCs 的方法以及无偏地消除所有癌细胞的方法。
