title: Ovarian cancer stem cells: a new target for cancer therapy.
abstract: Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal disease among all gynecologic malignancies and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Although the standard combination of surgery and chemotherapy was initially effective in patients with ovarian cancer, disease relapse commonly occurred due to the generation of chemoresistance. It has been reported that cancer stem cells (CSCs) are involved in drug resistance and cancer recurrence. Over the past decades, increasing studies have been done to identify CSCs from human ovarian cancer cells. The present paper will summarize different investigations on ovarian CSCs, including isolation, mechanisms of chemoresistance, and therapeutic approaches. Although there are still numerous challenges to translate basic research to clinical applications, understanding the molecular details of CSCs is essential for developing effective strategies to prevent ovarian cancer and its recurrence.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Qinglei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Saiming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ngai
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010053:Ovary / Q000473:pathology; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D012008:Recurrence; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C069077:BMI1 protein, human; D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs; C495901:TP53 protein, human; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1; D005978:Glutathione