Colorectal cancer stem cells and their implications for novel anticancer therapy

Abstract

Anticancer therapy relies on targeting highly proliferative cells. Commonly used chemotherapy does not selectively target individual cancer cells. The identification of distinct cancer stem cells that have the unique ability to engraft tumors and maintain cancer self-renewal may prove vital in the development of novel and selective anticancer therapy. Therefore, the discovery of colorectal cancer stem cell markers has attracted much attention. However, it is still controversial whether current markers for cancer cell subpopulations are selectively labeling cancer stem cells, whether these markers contribute to cancer stem cell function and how many cells within tumors maintain this stemness. For this reason, novel anticancer drug approaches need to be considered, that target selective cell death pathways, the tissue microenvironment and, additionally, multiple specific cancer (stem) cell markers. This triple approach of anticancer therapy may contribute to novel chemotherapeutic strategies and improve the understanding of human intestinal tumorigenesis; in particular, the distinct contribution of human cancer stem cells.

Keywords::

• adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor
• anticancer drug specificity
• cancer therapy
• colorectal cancer stem cells
• colorectal tumorigenesis

Acknowledgements

The author thanks IS Näthke (University of Dundee, Scotland, UK) for critical reading of the manuscript and M Stevense (Dresden University of Technology, Germany) for the helpful discussions on the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.