title: Cancer stem cells and radioresistance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Radiation therapy has made significant contributions to cancer treatment. However, despite continuous improvements, tumor recurrence and therapy resistance still occur in a high proportion of patients. One underlying reason for this radioresistance might be attributable to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC). The purpose of this review is to discuss CSC-specific mechanisms that confer radiation resistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We focus our discussions on breast cancer and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and conclude that both CSC-intrinsic and CSC-extrinsic factors as well as adaptive responses in CSC caused by irradiation and microenvironmental changes all make contributions to CSC-mediated radioresistance. Our discussions emphasize CSC as novel therapeutic targets in order to potentiate radiotherapy efficacy.
authors: Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, the University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center , Smithville, Texas , USA.
authors: Kiera
authors: K
authors: Rycaj
authors: Dean G
authors: DG
authors: Tang
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011836:Radiation Tolerance
keywords: Cancer stem cells; hypoxia; microenvironment; plasticity; radiation therapy; radioresistance; radiosensitivity