RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer: a review
JF Journal of Clinical Pathology
JO J Clin Pathol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Association of Clinical Pathologists
SP 110
OP 116
DO 10.1136/jclinpath-2017-204739
VO 71
IS 2
A1 Matthew J Munro
A1 Susrutha K Wickremesekera
A1 Lifeng Peng
A1 Swee T Tan
A1 Tinte Itinteang
YR 2018
UL http://jcp.bmj.com/content/71/2/110.abstract
AB Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in women and the third most common in men. Adenocarcinoma accounts for 90% of CRC cases. There has been accumulating evidence in support of the cancer stem cell (CSC) concept of cancer which proposes that CSCs are central in the initiation of cancer. CSCs have been the focus of study in a range of cancers, including CRC. This has led to the identification and understanding of genes involved in the induction and maintenance of pluripotency of stem cells, and markers for CSCs, including those investigated specifically in CRC. Knowledge of the expression pattern of CSCs in CRC has been increasing in recent years, revealing a heterogeneous population of cells within CRC ranging from pluripotent to differentiated cells, with overlapping and sometimes unique combinations of markers. This review summarises current literature on the understanding of CSCs in CRC, including evidence of the presence of CSC subpopulations, and the stem cell markers currently used to identify and localise these CSC subpopulations. Future research into this field may lead to improved methods for early detection of CRC, novel therapy and monitoring of treatment for CRC and other cancer types.