Cancer Stem Cells in Therapy Resistance of Colorectal Cancer

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Handbook of Oxidative Stress in Cancer: Therapeutic Aspects

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, and therapy resistance is one of the most common reasons for treatment failure in CRC. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a minor subpopulation of tumor cells with the capacity of self-renewal and differentiation, which play an important role in the progression, recurrence, and therapy resistance of cancer. Recent studies have shown that CSCs induce cancer resistance to conventional treatments through a variety of mechanisms, including targeting signaling pathways, regulating level of microRNAs, DNA damage repair, maintaining low levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and maintaining a relatively quiescent state. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting CSCs may be able to reverse therapy resistance of CRC, but the lack of specific CSC markers also confuses this therapeutic strategy. In this chapter, we will discuss the effect of CSCs on CRC therapy resistance and its potential mechanism, the current research progress of the strategy of targeting CSCs, and their existing problems in order to provide a reference for the selection of therapeutic strategies for CRC.

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Abbreviations

ABCG2:

ATP-binding cassette super-family G member 2

ABCB5:

ATP-binding cassette member B5

ABC:

ATP-binding cassette proteins

AML:

Acute myeloid leukemia

APC:

Adenomatous polyposis coli

BCC:

Basal cell carcinoma

BCL2:

B-cell lymphoma 2

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

CSCs:

Cancer stem cells

CD133:

Cluster of differentiation 133

CD44:

Cluster of differentiation 44

COX-2:

Cyclooxygenase-2

FOXO3a:

Forkhead transcription factor forkhead box O3a

GSK3:

Glycogen synthase kinase 3

5-FU:

5-Fluorouracil

IGF1-R:

Growth factor 1 receptor

LGR5:

Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5

miRNA:

MicroRNAs

MTX:

Methotrexate

MMP16:

Matrix metalloproteinase 16

MDR:

Multidrug resistance

MRP-2:

MDR-associated protein 2

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SMO:

Smoothened

SP:

Side population

TDX:

Tomudex

TUSC3:

Tumor suppressor candidate 3

3'UTR:

3' untranslated region

YAP:

Yes-associated protein

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Yang, Y., Meng, WJ., Wang, ZQ. (2021). Cancer Stem Cells in Therapy Resistance of Colorectal Cancer. In: Chakraborti, S. (eds) Handbook of Oxidative Stress in Cancer: Therapeutic Aspects. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1247-3_102-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1247-3_102-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-1247-3

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