Lung cancer stem cells – the role in pathogenesis and progressive growth of cancer

Lung cancer is the main cause of cancer death worldwide. Rapid accurate diagnosis, recognition of risk factors and improvement of treatment efficacy represent the main challenges. An advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis, observed in the majority of cases, makes the introduction of radical treatment impossible or ineffective. Immunotherapy was a breakthrough in achieving long-term survival in recent years. The reason for developing this type of treatment is to know the interaction between the host cells and tumor cells. Cancer stem cells theory is increasingly gaining greater significance in the world. The biological heterogeneity of lung cancer may be due to the presence of a small percentage of cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs are the results of genetic and epigenetic changes in normal stem cells, progenitor cellsor differentiated cells. CSCs are functionally defined by their unlimited self-renewal capacity,multiple differentiation and their ability to imitate tumors. It is believed that CSCs determineunrestricted growth of tumors and their different morphology. Their ability to self-renew canbe the cause of relapses even after long periods of remission. CSCs reside in niches, where theyreceive signals for differentiation and proliferation process. The identification of CSCs is basedon the presence of specific molecules (CD133, CD44, CD90, ALDH, EpCAM). An important featureof CSCs is their resistance to conventional cancer treatment: radio therapy and chemotherapy.Presumably, CSCs are responsible for the synthesis of immunosuppressive particles, andrecruiting other molecules, which have immunosuppressive properties. The paper presentsthe current state of knowledge on CSCs in lung cancer detailing adenocarcinoma.