Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2026; 18(10): 124235
Published online Oct 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.124235
Published online Oct 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.124235
Differentiation-inducing therapy: A potential therapeutic strategy that targets liver cancer stem cells
Hao Luo, Meng-Ting Yao, Min-Jie Yu, Tao Wang, Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Co-first authors: Hao Luo and Meng-Ting Yao.
Author contributions: Luo H and Yao MT contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-first authors. Luo H, Yao MT, Yu MJ, and Wang T reviewed the literature; Luo H and Wang T contributed to manuscript drafting; Yao MT and Yu MJ prepared the illustration.
AI contribution statement: All of this manuscript were not edited using AI tools.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81502696; Program of General Hospital of Western Theater Command, No. 2021-XZYG-C33 and No. 2024-YGJC-A12; and Science & Technology Department of Sichuan Provence International Cooperation Program, No. 2019YFH0056.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Tao Wang, MD, Department of General Surgery, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, No. 270 Rongdu Avenue, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China. wangtao301020@sina.com
Received: June 10, 2026
Revised: July 12, 2026
Accepted: August 10, 2026
Published online: October 15, 2026
Processing time: 104 Days and 5.3 Hours
Revised: July 12, 2026
Accepted: August 10, 2026
Published online: October 15, 2026
Processing time: 104 Days and 5.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Differentiation-inducing therapy may be a potential strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as it can target both the arrested differentiation of liver stem/progenitor cells and the dedifferentiation of mature hepatocytes. We systematically retrieved and analyzed recent relevant research on liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) origin and differentiation therapy, and we summarized how differentiation-inducing therapy plays therapeutic role based on the theory of LCSCs. In addition, we explored the potential molecules and agents with differentiation-inducing therapeutic effect, and assessed translational prospects and clinical applicability of these candidate agents for future HCC treatment.