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Cancer stem cells – important players in tumor therapy resistance
Author(s) -
Colak Selcuk,
Medema Jan P.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the febs journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1742-4658
pISSN - 1742-464X
DOI - 10.1111/febs.13023
Subject(s) - radiation therapy , cancer therapy , cancer stem cell , cancer , medicine , tumor cells , targeted therapy , cancer research , oncology
Resistance to tumor therapy is an unsolved problem in cancer treatment. A plethora of studies have attempted to explain this phenomenon and many mechanisms of resistance have been suggested over recent decades. The concept of cancer stem cells ( CSC s), which describes tumors as hierarchically organized, has added a new level of complexity to therapy failure. CSC s are the root of cancers and resist chemo‐ and radiotherapy, explaining cancer recurrence even many years after therapy is ended. This review discusses briefly CSC s in cancers, gives an overview of the role of CSC s in therapy resistance, and discusses the potential means of targeting these therapy‐resistant tumor cells.