Miyoshi Norikatsu, Haraguchi Naotsugu, Mizushima Tsunekazu, Ishii Hideshi, Yamamoto Hirofumi, Mori Masaki
Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 2-2-E2, Suita City, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
Department of Innovative Oncology Research and Regenerative Medicine, Osaka International Cancer Institute, 3-1-69, Ohtemae, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 541-8567, Japan.
Regen Ther. 2021 Feb 5;17:13-19. doi: 10.1016/j.reth.2021.01.002. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Although common cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have recently improved and yielded good results, evaluated as tumor shrinkage, disease recurrence is still a common event for most cancer patients. This is termed refractory cancer. This tumor regrowth following therapy is generally thought to be caused by a small, specific population of tumor cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs). Similar to other stem cells, CSCs have the capacity for self-renewal and multipotent differentiation, and they have been identified in many tumor types based on cell surface protein expression. This specific cell population has stemness characteristics as examined by serial transplantation in animal models. Previous studies have developed a specific signature of cell surface markers and biological functions that can identify CSCs in many solid tumors. In this review, we summarize the characterization of CSCs using new techniques for identifying and quantifying them These techniques and concepts could be valuable for evaluating the effects of therapies on this cell population. Finally, we conclude by discussing several unique preclinical treatment strategies to targets CSCs, such as reprogramming CSCs or inducing attack by immune cells. Therapeutic and diagnostic methodologies that can target and quantify CSCs will be valuable tools for eradicating refractory cancer.
尽管常见的癌症治疗方法，如化疗和放疗，最近有所改进并取得了良好效果，以肿瘤缩小来评估，但疾病复发对大多数癌症患者来说仍然是常见情况。这被称为难治性癌症。治疗后肿瘤的重新生长通常被认为是由一小群特定的肿瘤细胞，即癌症干细胞（CSCs）引起的。与其他干细胞类似，癌症干细胞具有自我更新和多能分化的能力，并且基于细胞表面蛋白表达已在多种肿瘤类型中被鉴定出来。通过在动物模型中的连续移植检测，这种特定的细胞群体具有干性特征。先前的研究已经开发出一种特定的细胞表面标志物和生物学功能特征，可用于识别多种实体瘤中的癌症干细胞。在本综述中，我们总结了使用用于识别和量化癌症干细胞的新技术对其进行的表征。这些技术和概念对于评估治疗对该细胞群体的效果可能具有重要价值。最后，我们通过讨论几种针对癌症干细胞的独特临床前治疗策略来得出结论，例如对癌症干细胞进行重编程或诱导免疫细胞攻击。能够靶向和量化癌症干细胞的治疗和诊断方法将成为根除难治性癌症的宝贵工具。
