Frąszczak Karolina, Barczyński Bartłomiej
1st Chair and Department of Oncological Gynaecology and Gynaecology, Medical University in Lublin, 20-081 Lublin, Poland.
Department of Obstetrics and Pathology of Pregnancy, Medical University in Lublin, 20-081 Lublin, Poland.
Cancers (Basel). 2024 Mar 7;16(6):1083. doi: 10.3390/cancers16061083.
Endometrial cancer is one of most common types of gynaecological tumours in developing countries. It has been suggested that cancer stem cells play an important role in the development of endometrial cancer. These are a subset of highly tumorigenic cells with similar features to normal stem cells (unlimited proliferation, multi-potential differentiation, self-renewal, aggressiveness, invasion, recurrence, and chemo- and endocrine therapy resistance). Wnt/β-catenin, Hedghog, and Notch1 are the most frequently activated pathways in endometrial cancer stem cells. The presence of cancer stem cells is associated with the resistance to chemotherapy caused by different mechanisms. Various markers, including CD24, CD40, CD44, CD9, CD133, and CD 166, have been identified on the surface of these cells. A higher expression of such markers translates into enhanced tumorigenicity. However, there is no strong evidence showing that any of these identified markers can be used as the universal marker for endometrial cancer stem cells. Growing data from genomic and proteomic profiling shed some light on the understanding of the molecular basis of cancers in humans and the role of cancer stem cells. However, there is much left to discover. Therefore, more studies are needed to fully uncover their functional mechanisms in order to prevent the development and recurrence of cancer, as well as to enhance treatment effectiveness.
子宫内膜癌是发展中国家最常见的妇科肿瘤类型之一。有研究表明，癌症干细胞在子宫内膜癌的发展中起着重要作用。这些是一类高度致瘤性细胞，具有与正常干细胞相似的特征（无限增殖、多能分化、自我更新、侵袭性、浸润、复发以及对化疗和内分泌治疗耐药）。Wnt/β-连环蛋白、Hedghog和Notch1是子宫内膜癌干细胞中最常被激活的信号通路。癌症干细胞的存在与由不同机制导致的化疗耐药有关。在这些细胞表面已鉴定出多种标志物，包括CD24、CD40、CD44、CD9、CD133和CD166。这些标志物的高表达意味着更强的致瘤性。然而，没有确凿证据表明这些已鉴定出的标志物中的任何一种可作为子宫内膜癌干细胞的通用标志物。来自基因组和蛋白质组分析的越来越多的数据为理解人类癌症的分子基础以及癌症干细胞的作用提供了一些线索。然而，仍有许多有待发现的地方。因此，需要更多研究来全面揭示它们的功能机制，以预防癌症的发生和复发，并提高治疗效果。
