Abstract
Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) are a subset of cancer cells that are resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. As such, CSCs have been recognized as playing a large role in tumor initiation and recurrence. Although hyperthermia is broadly used in cancer treatment either alone or in combination with radio- or chemo-therapy, its potential to target CSCs is not well understood. In this review, we discuss different types of hyperthermia and potential mechanisms of action in cancer treatment, particularly in regards to killing CSCs.
Highlights
Despite advances in understanding the molecular changes underpinning cancer and improved technology and treatments, cancer remains a leading cause of death in America
The cancer stem-like cell (CSC) hypothesis posits that a subset of tumor cells have a high capacity for self-renewal, have the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages and can give rise to tumors [1,2,3,4]
The efficacy of hyperthermia is seen across many cancer types, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, rectal cancer, bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, cervical cancer and glioblastoma suggesting that it has broad clinical applicability [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
Summary
Despite advances in understanding the molecular changes underpinning cancer and improved technology and treatments, cancer remains a leading cause of death in America. The cancer stem-like cell (CSC) hypothesis posits that a subset of tumor cells have a high capacity for self-renewal, have the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages and can give rise to tumors [1,2,3,4] These CSCs are highly malignant and can persist or proliferate in spite of cytotoxic treatment [1,2,3,4]. While thermal ablation largely kills tumor cells due to the direct cytotoxic effects of heat, mild temperature hyperthermia uses heat as an adjunct treatment to enhance the cytotoxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy [26,27,28]. The mechanisms underlying the biologic effects are multi-factorial and impact the tumor population itself, the tumor microenvironment and immune system
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