title: Monitoring cancer stem cells: insights into clinical oncology.
abstract: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small, characteristically distinctive subset of tumor cells responsible for tumor initiation and progression. Several treatment modalities, such as surgery, glycolytic inhibition, driving CSC proliferation, immunotherapy, and hypofractionated radiotherapy, may have the potential to eradicate CSCs. We propose that monitoring CSCs is important in clinical oncology as CSC populations may reflect true treatment response and assist with managing treatment strategies, such as defining optimal chemotherapy cycles, permitting pretreatment cancer surveillance, conducting a comprehensive treatment plan, modifying radiation treatment, and deploying rechallenge chemotherapy. Then, we describe methods for monitoring CSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: ShuChen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: YingChun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: ZhiHua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: HaiYan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: MingZhu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: DaLiu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Min
keywords: cancer stem cells; glycolytic inhibition; immunotherapy; rechallenge; watchful waiting