Wang Nuozhou, Wang Shanshan, Li Ming-Yue, Hu Bao-Guang, Liu Li-Ping, Yang Sheng-Li, Yang Shucai, Gong Zhongqin, Lai Paul B S, Chen George G
Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China.
Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2018 Dec 21;10:1758835918816287. doi: 10.1177/1758835918816287. eCollection 2018.
The poor clinical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is ascribed to the resistance of HCC cells to traditional treatments and tumor recurrence after curative therapies. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified as a small subset of cancer cells which have high capacity for self-renewal, differentiation and tumorigenesis. Recent advances in the field of liver CSCs (LCSCs) have enabled the identification of CSC surface markers and the isolation of CSC subpopulations from HCC cells. Given their central role in cancer initiation, metastasis, recurrence and therapeutic resistance, LCSCs constitute a therapeutic opportunity to achieve cure and prevent relapse of HCC. Thus, it is necessary to develop therapeutic strategies to selectively and efficiently target LCSCs. Small molecular inhibitors targeting the core stemness signaling pathways have been actively pursued and evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies. Other alternative therapeutic strategies include targeting LCSC surface markers, interrupting the CSC microenvironment, and altering the epigenetic state. In this review, we summarize the properties of CSCs in HCC and discuss novel therapeutic strategies that can be used to target LCSCs.
肝细胞癌（HCC）患者临床预后较差，这归因于HCC细胞对传统治疗的耐药性以及根治性治疗后的肿瘤复发。癌症干细胞（CSCs）已被确定为一小部分具有高度自我更新、分化和肿瘤发生能力的癌细胞。肝脏癌症干细胞（LCSCs）领域的最新进展使得能够识别CSC表面标志物，并从HCC细胞中分离出CSC亚群。鉴于LCSCs在癌症起始、转移、复发和治疗耐药性中的核心作用，它们为实现HCC的治愈和预防复发提供了一个治疗机会。因此，有必要开发选择性和高效靶向LCSCs的治疗策略。靶向核心干性信号通路的小分子抑制剂已在临床前和临床研究中得到积极探索和评估。其他替代治疗策略包括靶向LCSC表面标志物、中断CSC微环境以及改变表观遗传状态。在这篇综述中，我们总结了HCC中CSCs的特性，并讨论了可用于靶向LCSCs的新型治疗策略。
