Abstract
Many studies have highlighted the role cancer stem cells (CSC) play in the development and progression of various types of cancer including lung and esophageal cancer. More recently, it has been proposed that the presence of CSCs affects treatment efficacy and patient prognosis. In reviewing this new area of cancer biology, we will give an overview of the current literature regarding lung and esophageal CSCs and radioresistance of CSC, and discuss the potential therapeutic applications of these findings.
Highlights
Cancer has become the leading cause of human death worldwide [1]
Lung and esophageal cancers are among the most common lethal forms of cancer in both men and women in the world, with the overall five-year survival rate at less than 20% [1], comparatively little is known about the biology of these two types of cancer stem cells compared to other solid tumor stem cells, esophageal cancer
Lung cancers are comprised of two major histological types: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which can be further divided into squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma
Summary
Cancer has become the leading cause of human death worldwide [1]. Despite the recent advances made in cancer treatment and diagnosis, cancer mortality for advanced solid malignancies remains unchanged, in part due to the development of resistance by the tumor to radiation and chemotherapy. There is an increasing need to understand the biology of lung and esophageal cancer stem cells so that new therapeutic developments could tackle this cell population. Both lung and esophageal cancers are considered complex tumors in terms of their origin and regionally distinct types of neoplasia. Lung cancers are comprised of two major histological types: small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which can be further divided into squamous cell carcinoma (lung SCC), adenocarcinoma (lung ADC) and large cell carcinoma. The histological and regional diversity found in lung and esophageal cancer may partly be due to the presence of diverse pools of stem cells with different biological properties, underlining a pressing need to characterize these different stem cells for direct implications on diagnostic and therapeutic outcome
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