title: Cancer stem cells in human digestive tract malignancies.
abstract: Digestive tract malignancies, including oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers, are among the top 10 most common cancers worldwide. In spite of using various treatment modalities, cancer patients still suffer from recurrence and metastasis of malignant cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are undifferentiated and highly proliferative malignant cells with unique properties mediated by overexpression of stemness markers, metastasis-related proteins, drug transporters, and DNA repair machinery. Due to their salient characteristics, it has been suggested that CSCs are responsible for tumor initiation, progression, invasion, recurrence, and therapy resistance. Exploring different aspects of CSC biology has fueled a great enthusiasm in designing novel therapeutic strategies to help patients. For instance, identification of markers associated with digestive tract CSCs, such as CD44, CD133, CD24, EpCAM, LGR5, ALDH1, and BMI1, has made it possible to develop more accurate diagnosis approaches. In addition, specifically targeting CSCs by their markers imposes fewer side effects and improves therapeutic outcomes. Here, we focus on the current status of CSC biology in digestive tract cancers, with emphasis on CSC markers, and review achieved progress in eradication of digestive tract CSC cells.
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Research Group, Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. behnam3260@um.ac.ir.|Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. behnam3260@um.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Fatemeh B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Rassouli
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Research Group, Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. matin@um.ac.ir.|Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. matin@um.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Maryam M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Matin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Morvarid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saeinasab
mesh_terms: D000071916:AC133 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics; D051927:CD24 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004260:DNA Repair; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule / Q000378:metabolism; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000071916:AC133 Antigen; C069077:BMI1 protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051927:CD24 Antigen; C497483:CD44 protein, human; C499379:EPCAM protein, human; D000071858:Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D007527:Isoenzymes; C116884:LGR5 protein, human; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D000080924:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family; C510223:ALDH1A1 protein, human; C515028:ALDH1A1 protein, mouse; D050697:Retinal Dehydrogenase; D063150:Polycomb Repressive Complex 1
keywords: Cancer stem cells; Digestive tract malignancies; Molecular markers