Copyright
©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2014; 20(4): 923-942
Published online Jan 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i4.923
Published online Jan 28, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i4.923
Cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer from pathogenesis to therapy: Controversies and perspectives
Caterina Fanali, Donatella Lucchetti, Marisa Farina, Maddalena Corbi, Valerio Cufino, Achille Cittadini, Alessandro Sgambato, Istituto di Patologia Generale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Fanali C, Lucchetti D and Farina M contributed equally to this work; all authors contributed to manuscript preparation; Sgambato A supervised the work and was responsible for the final editing.
Correspondence to: Alessandro Sgambato, MD, PhD, Istituto di Patologia Generale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome, Italy. asgambato@rm.unicatt.it
Telephone: +39-6-3016619 Fax: +39-6-3012753
Received: October 15, 2013
Revised: November 20, 2013
Accepted: January 2, 2014
Published online: January 28, 2014
Revised: November 20, 2013
Accepted: January 2, 2014
Published online: January 28, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: A better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for tumor initiation and progression is essential for the development of novel, more powerful therapies for colorectal cancer patients. In this paper, we review the basic concepts of both the traditional “stochastic”, and of the more recent, “hierarchical” models of tumor development. We then introduce the so-called cancer stem cells (CSCs) and provides an overview of the proposed roles of CSCs in human colorectal tumorigenesis focusing on the most important molecules identified as CSC-specific marker in colorectal cancer and on the potential strategies for the development of CSC-targeted therapy.