title: Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance.
abstract: Radioresistance remains a major obstacle for the radiotherapy treatment of cancer. Previous studies have demonstrated that the radioresistance of cancer is due to the existence of intrinsic cancer stem cells (CSCs), which represent a small, but radioresistant cell subpopulation that exist in heterogeneous tumors. By contrast, non-stem cancer cells are considered to be radiosensitive and thus, easy to kill. However, recent studies have revealed that under conditions of radiation-induced stress, theoretically radiosensitive non-stem cancer cells may undergo dedifferentiation subsequently obtaining the phenotypes and functions of CSCs, including high resistance to radiotherapy, which indicates that radiation may directly result in the generation of novel CSCs from non-stem cancer cells. These findings suggest that in addition to intrinsic CSCs, non-stem cancer cells may also contribute to the relapse and metastasis of cancer following transformation into CSCs. This review aims to investigate the radiation-induced generation of CSCs, its association with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and its significance with regard to the radioresistance of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fengsheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kunming
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Emergency, National Institute for Radiological Protection, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Disease Surgery, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Weijuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiujun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Sinian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratories, The Second Artillery General Hospital, Beijing 100088, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qisheng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: cancer stem cells; dedifferentiation; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; non-stem cancer cells; radioresistance; radiotherapy