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Review
. 2013 May 28;19(20):2997-3006.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i20.2997.

Colon cancer stem cells: controversies and perspectives

Maria Ausiliatrice Puglisi  1 , Valentina Tesori, Wanda Lattanzi, Giovanni Battista Gasbarrini, Antonio Gasbarrini
Affiliations
Review

Colon cancer stem cells: controversies and perspectives

Maria Ausiliatrice Puglisi et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Tumors have long been viewed as a population in which all cells have the equal propensity to form new tumors, the so called conventional stochastic model. The cutting-edge theory on tumor origin and progression, tends to consider cancer as a stem cell disease. Stem cells are actively involved in the onset and maintenance of colon cancer. This review is intended to examine the state of the art on colon cancer stem cells (CSCs), with regard to the recent achievements of basic research and to the corresponding translational consequences. Specific prominence is given to the hypothesized origin of CSCs and to the methods for their identification. The growing understanding of CSC biology is driving the optimization of novel anti-cancer targeted drugs.

Keywords: CD133; Chemoresistance; Colon cancer stem cells; Colorectal cancer; Therapy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic presentation of two possible ways of colon adeocarcinoma formation. A: “Bottom-up” theory: intestinal stem cells (ISCs, arrow) at the base of the crypt, within the stem cell zone, are the cell of origin of neoplasia as a consequence of anomalous differentiation; B: “Top-down” theory: a progenitor or differentiated cell is the first transformed cell that can acquire stem cells (arrow) behavior before inducing cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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