Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 1820: Endometrial Cancer Stem Cells: Role, Characterization and Therapeutic Implications

Cancers, Vol. 11, Pages 1820: Endometrial Cancer Stem Cells: Role, Characterization and Therapeutic Implications Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers11111820 Authors: Giannone Attademo Scotto Genta Ghisoni Tuninetti Aglietta Pignata Valabrega Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most frequent gynecological cancer. In patients with relapsed and advanced disease, prognosis is still dismal and development of resistance is common. In this context, endometrial Cancer Stem Cells (eCSC), stem-like cells capable to self-renewal and differentiation in mature cancer cells, represent a potential field of expansion for drug development. The aim of this review is to characterize the role of eCSC in EC, their features and how they could be targeted. CSC are involved in progression, invasiveness and metastasis (though epithelial to mesenchimal transition, EMT), as well as chemoresistance in EC. Nevertheless, isolation of eCSC is still controversial. Indeed, CD133, Aldheyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), CD117, CD55 and CD44 are enriched in CSCs but there is no universal marker nowadays. The most frequently activated pathways in eCSC are Wingless-INT (Wnt)/β-catenin, Notch1, and Hedghog, with a high expression of self-renewal transcription factors like Octamer binding transcription factor 4 (OCT), B Lymphoma Mo-MLV Insertion Region 1 Homolog (BMI1), North American Network Operations Group Homebox protein (NANOG), and SRY-Box 2 (SOX2). These pathways have been targeted ...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research