Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Perinatal Center, Protestant Hospital of Bethel Foundation, University Medical School OWL at Bielefeld, Bielefeld University, Campus Bielefeld-Bethel, Burgsteig 13, 33617 Bielefeld, Germany.
Forschungsverbund BioMedizin Bielefeld, OWL (FBMB e.V.), Maraweg 21, 33617 Bielefeld, Germany.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar 21;23(6):3412. doi: 10.3390/ijms23063412.
Endometrial cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases in women worldwide, with an incidence of 5.9%. Thus, it is the most frequent cancer of the female genital tract, with more than 34,000 women dying, in Europe and North America alone. Endometrial Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) might be drivers of carcinogenesis as well as metastatic and recurrent disease. Therefore, targeting CSCs is of high interest to improve prognosis of patients suffering of advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. This review describes the current evidence of molecular mechanisms in endometrial CSCs with special emphasis on MYC and NF-κB signaling as well as mitochondrial metabolism. Furthermore, the current status of immunotherapy targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 in endometrial cancer cells and CSCs is elucidated. The outlined findings encourage novel therapies that target signaling pathways in endometrial CSCs as well as immunotherapy as a promising therapeutic approach in the treatment of endometrial cancer to impede cancer progression and prevent recurrence.
子宫内膜癌是全球女性最常见的恶性肿瘤之一，发病率为 5.9%。因此，它是欧洲和北美的女性生殖道最常见的癌症，仅这两个地区就有超过 34000 名女性死于该病。子宫内膜癌干细胞（CSC）可能是致癌、转移和复发性疾病的驱动因素。因此，针对 CSCs 对于改善晚期或复发性子宫内膜癌患者的预后具有重要意义。本文综述了子宫内膜 CSCs 中分子机制的最新证据，特别强调了 MYC 和 NF-κB 信号以及线粒体代谢。此外，还阐明了针对 PD-1 和 PD-L1 的免疫疗法在子宫内膜癌细胞和 CSCs 中的现状。所描述的研究结果鼓励针对子宫内膜 CSCs 中信号通路的新疗法以及免疫疗法作为治疗子宫内膜癌的有前途的治疗方法，以阻止癌症进展并预防复发。
