Editorial
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 21, 2010; 16(31): 3871-3877
Published online Aug 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i31.3871
Therapeutic implications of colon cancer stem cells
Eros Fabrizi, Simona di Martino, Federica Pelacchi, Lucia Ricci-Vitiani
Eros Fabrizi, Simona di Martino, Federica Pelacchi, Lucia Ricci-Vitiani, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, Rome 00161, Italy
Author contributions: Fabrizi E, di Martino S and Pelacchi F collected the references and drafted the manuscript; Ricci-Vitiani L drafted and revised the manuscript.
Supported by Italian Association for Cancer Research
Correspondence to: Lucia Ricci-Vitiani, PhD, Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, Rome 00161, Italy. lriccivitiani@yahoo.it
Telephone: +39-6-49903666 Fax: +39-6-49387087
Received: March 12, 2010
Revised: May 8, 2010
Accepted: May 15, 2010
Published online: August 21, 2010
Abstract

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in many industrialized countries and is characterized by a heterogenic pool of cells with distinct differentiation patterns. Recently, the concept that cancer might arise from a rare population of cells with stem cell-like properties has received support with regard to several solid tumors, including colorectal cancer. According to the cancer stem cell hypothesis, cancer can be considered a disease in which mutations either convert normal stem cells into aberrant counterparts or cause a more differentiated cell to revert toward a stem cell-like behaviour; either way these cells are thought to be responsible for tumor generation and propagation. The statement that only a subset of cells drives tumor formation has major implications for the development of new targeted therapeutic strategies aimed at eradicating the tumor stem cell population. This review will focus on the biology of normal and malignant colonic stem cells, which might contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for tumor development and resistance to therapy.

Keywords: Colon cancer initiating cells, Colon carcinogenesis, Target therapy