Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1020 Locust St, JAH368, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Thomas Jefferson University, 1020 Locust St, JAH368, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
Per Med. 2021 Mar;18(2):171-183. doi: 10.2217/pme-2020-0099. Epub 2021 Feb 10.
Colorectal cancer continues to represent a significant burden on public health as the second highest cause of cancer mortality, when men and women are combined, in the US. About 50% of patients either present with late-stage metastatic disease, or develop metastatic recurrences, and ultimately die. In turn, this mortality largely reflects cancer stem cells, tumor-initiating cells that are responsible for cancer progression, drug resistance, recurrence and metastasis. This review summarizes the unique properties of colorectal cancer stem cells, and the emerging strategies by which they can be selectively targeted as a therapeutic approach to eradicating this disease.
结直肠癌在美国仍是男性和女性癌症死亡的第二大主要原因，给公众健康带来了巨大负担。约有 50%的患者要么出现晚期转移性疾病，要么出现转移性复发，最终死亡。反过来，这种死亡率在很大程度上反映了癌症干细胞，即负责癌症进展、耐药性、复发和转移的肿瘤起始细胞。本文综述了结直肠癌干细胞的独特特性，以及新兴的靶向这些细胞的策略，作为消除这种疾病的一种治疗方法。
