title: Cancer stem cells as therapeutic targets of hepato-biliary-pancreatic cancers.
abstract: Heterogeneity is one of the essential hallmarks of malignancies. Within bulk cancer cells, a striking variability differs in biological characteristics including the proliferation rate, cell-cell interaction, metastatic tendency and even sensitivity to anticancer therapies. Such diversity makes the investigation and treatment of the cancers complicated. Increasing evidence suggests this plasticity of cancers is a result of self-renewing and differentiation of a small subpopulation of cancer cells with stem-like properties, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). More importantly, CSCs are believed to be responsible for the resistance to conventional therapies and metastatic abilities in clinical practice. This review summarizes the molecular pathogenesis of hepato-biliary-pancreatic CSCs on the basis of the recent studies, and promising strategy of novel therapy targeting the signal transduction pathways or potentially epigenetic addictions of CSCs.
authors: Department of Molecular Oncology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8519, Japan. tanaka.monc@tmd.ac.jp.
authors: Shinji
authors: S
authors: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D001661:Biliary Tract Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D057890:Epigenomics; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Asymmetric cell division; Epigenetic reprograming; Hedgehog; PI3K/Akt; Wnt