Cancer Stem Cells and Treatment of Cancer: An Update and Future Perspectives

Title:Cancer Stem Cells and Treatment of Cancer: An Update and Future Perspectives

Volume: 19

Author(s): Mudassir Khan, Mashal Naeem, Sana Aftab Chaudary, Affan Ahmed and Aftab Ahmed*

Affiliation:

• School of Biological Sciences, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan

Keywords: Cancer treatment, Cancer remision, Cancer stem cells

Abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play an essential role in tumour progression and metastasis. These cells have the unique ability to self-renew and differentiate into specific tissue cell types. Their capacity for self-renewal enables CSCs to persist over time, thereby contributing to cancer relapse and therapy resistance. Therefore, targeting CSCs has emerged as a promising cancer treatment strategy. CSCs exhibit differentiation, self-renewal, and plasticity, and they contribute to multiple aspects of malignant tumours, such as recurrence, metastasis, heterogeneity, multidrug resistance, and radiation resistance. While conventional treatments predominantly target cancer cells that are not CSCs, CSCs frequently survive, resulting in tumour recurrence and relapse. This article concentrates on the development of novel therapeutic strategies that combine conventional treatments with CSC inhibitors to eradicate cancer cells and CSCs, thereby treating cancer and preventing its recurrence. However, the diversity of CSCs poses a significant obstacle to the development of CSC-targeted therapies, necessitating extensive research for a better understanding and exploration of therapeutic approaches. Future development of CSC-targeted therapies will rely heavily on overcoming this obstacle

Cite this article as:

Khan Mudassir, Naeem Mashal, Chaudary Aftab Sana, Ahmed Affan and Ahmed Aftab*, Cancer Stem Cells and Treatment of Cancer: An Update and Future Perspectives, Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2024; 19 () . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/011574888X247548230921063514