Cancer Stem Cells in Oncology: A Historical Overview

Abstract

In the past, developments in cancer research have produced new medications that greatly enhance patient outcomes and a growing understanding of the path physiology of the disease. Still, a large number of patients experience resistance to therapy, recurrence, or metastasis, and ultimately pass away from their illness. Based on empirical data, it has been determined that a subset of cancer cells known as cancer stem cells (CSCs) have characteristics with normal stem cells, such as the ability to self-renew, differentiate, and proliferate. The mechanisms that control these stemness attributes which are lost after differentiation include STAT3, NAG, NOTCH, WNT, and also HEDGEHOG. These pathways are severely deregulated in CSCs as a result of genetic and epigenetic modifications. Preclinical models that target these CSCs by disrupting stemness pathways in conjunction with existing therapy methods have shown encouraging outcomes. Anti-CSC-based clinical studies are now at various phases of development as a result of this. The functions of CSCs along with stemness pathways in the therapy of oncology, as well as how these connections relate to clinical data, are covered in this review. Oncologists must comprehend how CSCs contribute to the advancement of cancer as well as how they can be targeted to enhance patient outcomes, since they may be able to explain the unfavourable clinical outcomes seen during therapy.