Characteristics of liver cancer stem cells and clinical correlations.
Liver cancer is an aggressive malignant disease with a poor prognosis. Patients with liver cancer are usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus miss the opportunity for surgical resection. Chemotherapy and radiofrequency ablation, which target tumor bulk, have exhibited limited therapeutic efficacy to date. Liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of undifferentiated cells existed in liver cancer, which are considered to be responsible for liver cancer initiation, metastasis, relapse and chemoresistance. Elucidating liver CSC characteristics and disclosing their regulatory mechanism might not only deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of liver cancer but also facilitate the development of diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches to improve the clinical management of liver cancer. In this review, we will summarize the recent advances in liver CSC research in terms of the origin, identification, regulation and clinical correlation.
International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/Institute, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai 200433, China.
Zhuo
Z
Cheng
International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/Institute, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai 200433, China.
Xiaofeng
X
Li
International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/Institute, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai 200433, China. Electronic address: dingjin1103@163.com.
Jin
J
Ding
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D000066673:Cell Self Renewal; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D015398:Signal Transduction; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
Cancer stem cell; Chemoresistance; Liver cancer; Self-renewal