IMR Press / FBL / Volume 16 / Issue 5 / DOI: 10.2741/3811

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Colon cancer stem cells: implications in carcinogenesis
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1 Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
2 Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
3 Department of Internal Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2011, 16(5), 1651–1662; https://doi.org/10.2741/3811
Published: 1 January 2011
Abstract

The cancer stem cell model was described for hematologic malignancies in 1997 and since then evidence has emerged to support it for many solid tumors as well, including colon cancer. This model proposes that certain cells within the tumor mass are pluripotent and capable of self-renewal and have an enhanced ability to initiate distant metastasis. The cancer stem cell model has important implications for cancer treatment, since most current therapies target actively proliferating cells and may not be effective against the cancer stem cells that are responsible for recurrence. In recent years great progress has been made in identifying markers of both normal and malignant colon stem cells. Proteins proposed as colon cancer stem cell markers include CD133, CD44, CD166, ALDH1A1, Lgr5, and several others. In this review we consider the evidence for these proteins as colon cancer stem cell markers and as prognostic indicators of colon cancer survival. Additionally, we discuss potential functions of these proteins and the implications this may have for development of therapies that target colon cancer stem cells.

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