Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches
Breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) are among the most common and deadly cancers affecting women worldwide. Both are complex diseases with marked heterogeneity. Despite the induction of screening programs that increase the frequency of earlier diagnosis of BC, at a stage when the cancer is mo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/13/10683 |
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| author | Ivan Lučić Matea Kurtović Monika Mlinarić Nikolina Piteša Ana Čipak Gašparović Maja Sabol Lidija Milković |
| author_facet | Ivan Lučić Matea Kurtović Monika Mlinarić Nikolina Piteša Ana Čipak Gašparović Maja Sabol Lidija Milković |
| author_sort | Ivan Lučić |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) are among the most common and deadly cancers affecting women worldwide. Both are complex diseases with marked heterogeneity. Despite the induction of screening programs that increase the frequency of earlier diagnosis of BC, at a stage when the cancer is more likely to respond to therapy, which does not exist for OC, more than 50% of both cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Initial therapy can put the cancer into remission. However, recurrences occur frequently in both BC and OC, which are highly cancer-subtype dependent. Therapy resistance is mainly attributed to a rare subpopulation of cells, named cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor-initiating cells, as they are capable of self-renewal, tumor initiation, and regrowth of tumor bulk. In this review, we will discuss the distinctive markers and signaling pathways that characterize CSC, their interactions with the tumor microenvironment, and the strategies they employ to evade immune surveillance. Our focus will be on identifying the common features of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) and ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC) and suggesting potential therapeutic approaches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:40:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f0c3fb603484ec98d1e24d342c45f69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:40:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f0c3fb603484ec98d1e24d342c45f692023-11-18T16:41:55ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-06-0124131068310.3390/ijms241310683Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic ApproachesIvan Lučić0Matea Kurtović1Monika Mlinarić2Nikolina Piteša3Ana Čipak Gašparović4Maja Sabol5Lidija Milković6Laboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Hereditary Cancer, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaLaboratory for Oxidative Stress, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaBreast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) are among the most common and deadly cancers affecting women worldwide. Both are complex diseases with marked heterogeneity. Despite the induction of screening programs that increase the frequency of earlier diagnosis of BC, at a stage when the cancer is more likely to respond to therapy, which does not exist for OC, more than 50% of both cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Initial therapy can put the cancer into remission. However, recurrences occur frequently in both BC and OC, which are highly cancer-subtype dependent. Therapy resistance is mainly attributed to a rare subpopulation of cells, named cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor-initiating cells, as they are capable of self-renewal, tumor initiation, and regrowth of tumor bulk. In this review, we will discuss the distinctive markers and signaling pathways that characterize CSC, their interactions with the tumor microenvironment, and the strategies they employ to evade immune surveillance. Our focus will be on identifying the common features of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) and ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC) and suggesting potential therapeutic approaches.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/13/10683breast cancerovarian cancercancer stem cells (CSC)CSC markerssignaling pathwaystumor microenvironment |
| spellingShingle | Ivan Lučić Matea Kurtović Monika Mlinarić Nikolina Piteša Ana Čipak Gašparović Maja Sabol Lidija Milković Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches International Journal of Molecular Sciences breast cancer ovarian cancer cancer stem cells (CSC) CSC markers signaling pathways tumor microenvironment |
| title | Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches |
| title_full | Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches |
| title_fullStr | Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches |
| title_short | Deciphering Common Traits of Breast and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells and Possible Therapeutic Approaches |
| title_sort | deciphering common traits of breast and ovarian cancer stem cells and possible therapeutic approaches |
| topic | breast cancer ovarian cancer cancer stem cells (CSC) CSC markers signaling pathways tumor microenvironment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/13/10683 |
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