Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013 Aug;137(8):1111-6. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2012-0494-RA. Epub 2012 Nov 15.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) comprise a minor cell population in a tumor; however, they possess self-renewal capacity and are responsible for tumor recurrence and the emerging issue of tumor resistance. Despite recent advances in the study of pathogenesis and mechanisms of CSC-mediated disease recurrence and multidrug resistance, many questions remain unanswered.
To provide an overview of CSC theory and to describe major methods of CSC detection and isolation, with the emphasis on those techniques that are potentially relevant in clinical laboratory practice. Particular attention is given to CSC markers, such as cancer testis antigens, which could become promising targets in the development of immunotherapy in settings of minimal residual disease.
The review is based on analysis of peer-reviewed literature cited in PubMed, as well as preliminary results of studies conducted in our laboratory.
Despite a lack of consensus in the scientific community on research methodology, CSCs have demonstrated significant potential as therapeutic targets in the treatment of cancer. Further research of CSC biology and markers will eventually lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for targeting these cells to treat resistant and recurrent tumors and minimal residual disease.
癌症干细胞（CSC）构成肿瘤中一小部分细胞群；然而，它们具有自我更新能力，是肿瘤复发和新兴的肿瘤耐药问题的根源。尽管近年来在研究 CSC 介导的疾病复发和多药耐药的发病机制和机制方面取得了进展，但仍有许多问题尚未得到解答。
概述 CSC 理论，并描述 CSC 检测和分离的主要方法，重点介绍在临床实验室实践中具有潜在相关性的技术。特别关注 CSC 标志物，例如癌症睾丸抗原，它们可能成为最小残留疾病背景下免疫治疗开发的有前途的靶标。
本综述基于对 PubMed 中引用的同行评议文献的分析，以及我们实验室进行的初步研究结果。
尽管科学界在研究方法上缺乏共识，但 CSC 已被证明在癌症治疗中作为治疗靶点具有重要潜力。对 CSC 生物学和标志物的进一步研究最终将导致开发针对这些细胞的新型治疗方法，以治疗耐药和复发性肿瘤和最小残留疾病。
