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. 2023;18(1):54-61.
doi: 10.2174/1574888X17666220608101852.

Cancer Cell De-Differentiation: Plasticity-Driven Stratagem For Tumor Metastasis and Recurrence

Sanaa El Marsafy  1 , Jérôme Larghero  1
Affiliations

Cancer Cell De-Differentiation: Plasticity-Driven Stratagem For Tumor Metastasis and Recurrence

Sanaa El Marsafy et al. Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. 2023.

Abstract

Tumor recurrence is a colossal challenge in clinical oncology. This multifactorial problem is attributed to the emergence of additional genetic mutations and the presence of dormant cancer cells. However, the plasticity of non-stem cancer cells and the acquisition of cancer stem cell (CSC) functionality is another contributing factor to tumor recurrence. Herein, I focus attention on the mechanisms that fuel cancer cell de-differentiation and the interplay between intra-cellular regulators and tumor microenvironment (TME) landscape that promotes cancer cell stemness. Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying tumor cell de-differentiation is crucial for developing innovative therapeutic strategies that prevent cancer from ever recurring.

Keywords: Cancer stem cells; cancer cell dormancy; cancer cell immune evasion; cancer cell plasticity; de-differentiation; epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

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