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Cancer Stem Cells in Resistance to Cytotoxic Drugs: Implications in Chemotherapy

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Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Cell Resistance to Chemotherapy

Part of the book series: Resistance to Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapeutics ((RTACT,volume 1))

Abstract

The efficacy of cytotoxic chemotherapy is limited by drug resistance presented by some cancer cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a sub-population of tumor cells that can initiate tumor formation. If chemotherapy kills bulk of cells within a tumor but not CSCs, the surviving CSCs can initiate the formation of recurrent tumors. This article discusses the inherent resistance of CSCs toward cytotoxic chemotherapy and some possible mechanisms involved. Approaches to target CSCs to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy will also be discussed.

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Abbreviations

ABC:

ATP binding cassette

ALDH:

Aldehyde dehydrogenase

BCRP:

Breast cancer resistance protein

CSCs:

Cancer stem cells

EGFR:

Epidermal growth factor receptor

ESC:

Embryonic stem cells

LRCs:

Label retaining cells

MDR:

Multidrug resistance

SP:

Side population

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Acknowledgments

We would like acknowledge the support from United States Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Pre-doctoral Fellowship Award W81XWH-10-1-0636 (M.T.W, H.J.), Breast Cancer Research Program Idea Award W81XWH-08-1-0540 (D.N.), and National Cancer Institute R01CA13445 (D.N.) and R15CA133776 (D.N.).

Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and Simmons Cancer Institute, PO Box 19626, Springfield, IL, 62794, USA

    Man-Tzu Wang, Hongmei Jiang, Debasish Boral & Daotai Nie

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  1. Man-Tzu Wang
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  2. Hongmei Jiang
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  3. Debasish Boral
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Correspondence to Daotai Nie .

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  1. Dept. Microbiology, Immunology &, Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Charles E. Young Dr. E. 609, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Benjamin Bonavida

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Wang, MT., Jiang, H., Boral, D., Nie, D. (2013). Cancer Stem Cells in Resistance to Cytotoxic Drugs: Implications in Chemotherapy. In: Bonavida, B. (eds) Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Cell Resistance to Chemotherapy. Resistance to Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapeutics, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7070-0_8

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