Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of medicine, No.100 Haining Road, 200080, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Feb 15;6(1):62. doi: 10.1038/s41392-020-00430-1.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) show a self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential that contribute to tumor progression and therapy resistance. However, the underlying processes are still unclear. Elucidation of the key hallmarks and resistance mechanisms of CSCs may help improve patient outcomes and reduce relapse by altering therapeutic regimens. Here, we reviewed the identification of CSCs, the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of therapy resistance in CSCs, the signaling pathways of CSCs that mediate treatment failure, and potential CSC-targeting agents in various tumors from the clinical perspective. Targeting the mechanisms and pathways described here might contribute to further drug discovery and therapy.
癌症干细胞（CSCs）表现出自更新能力和分化潜能，有助于肿瘤的进展和治疗耐药。然而，其潜在的机制仍不清楚。阐明 CSCs 的关键特征和耐药机制可能有助于通过改变治疗方案来改善患者的预后并减少复发。在这里，我们从临床的角度综述了 CSCs 的鉴定、CSCs 治疗耐药的内在和外在机制、介导治疗失败的 CSCs 的信号通路，以及各种肿瘤中潜在的 CSC 靶向药物。针对这里描述的机制和途径可能有助于进一步的药物发现和治疗。
