Immunotherapy: A Potential Approach to Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

Title:Immunotherapy: A Potential Approach to Targeting Cancer Stem Cells

Volume: 21 Issue: 2

Author(s): Wenjun Wang, Ling Bai, Dongsheng Xu, Wei Li and Jiuwei Cui*

Affiliation:

• Cancer Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin,China

Keywords: Immunotherapy, cancer stem cell, therapeutic application, clinical, target, mechanism.

Abstract: Tumor recurrence and drug resistance are two of the key factors affecting the prognosis of cancer patients. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a group of cells with infinite proliferation potential which are not sensitive to traditional therapies, including radio- and chemotherapy. These CSCs are considered to be central to tumor recurrence and the development of drug resistance. In addition, CSCs are important targets in cancer immunotherapy because of their expression of novel tumorassociated antigens, which result from mutations in cancer cells over the course of treatment. Emerging immunotherapies, including cancer vaccines, checkpoint blockade therapies, and transferred immune cell therapies, have all been shown to be more effective when they selectively target CSCs. Such therapies may also provide novel additions to the current therapeutic milieu and may offer new therapeutic combinations for treatment. This review summarizes the relationships between various immunotherapies and CSCs and provides novel insights into potential therapeutic applications for these approaches in the future.

Cite this article as:

Wang Wenjun , Bai Ling , Xu Dongsheng , Li Wei and Cui Jiuwei *, Immunotherapy: A Potential Approach to Targeting Cancer Stem Cells, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2021; 21 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1568009620666200504111914