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Mesenchymal stem cells in progression and treatment of cancers

  • Review
  • Published:
Frontiers in Biology

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) from bone marrow or local tissues are recruited to stroma of almost all types of cancers during initiation and/or progression of cancer. The recruited MSCs and their derivative cancer-associated fibroblasts interact with cancer cells to promote stemness, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Targeting these cancer-recruited MSCs and/or the interaction between MSCs and cancer cells are promising strategies to improve cancer therapy. On the other hand, the unique tumor-homing capacity of MSCs makes them a promising vehicle to deliver various anti-cancer agents. This review summarized the recent advancement of our understanding on the interaction between MSCs and cancer cells, as well as the potential of MSCs for cancer therapy.

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  1. Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Scott & White, MCMD, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, TX, 76502, USA

    Qingguo Zhao & Fei Liu

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  1. Qingguo Zhao
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  2. Fei Liu
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Correspondence to Fei Liu.

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Zhao, Q., Liu, F. Mesenchymal stem cells in progression and treatment of cancers. Front. Biol. 9, 186–194 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11515-014-1306-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11515-014-1306-2

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