Cancer Stem Cells in the Personalized Therapy of Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Treatment failure in primary as well as metastatic cancer patients, caused by chemo and radio resistance, has truncated the research for the applicability of personalized medicine. The use of stem cells and cancer stem cells in such a treatment approach will be reviewed in this study. RESULTS: CRC stem cells prove to be a promising asset for CRC treatment optimization both by serving as biomarkers for the current therapy modalities by means of treatment personalization and patient/tumor stratification, as well as in the development of targeted therapies, selective for the stem cell population. Similar conclusions are drawn, regarding mesenchymal stromal cells and their effect in CRC therapy; while resident stromal cells of tumor microenvironment seem to promote the tumorigenic and metastatic processes in addition to conferring to the chemo- and radio resistance, under certain conditions they are able to improve the treatment outcome of CRC chemotherapy, e.g. by targeted enzyme/prodrug treatment of CRC cells. CONCLUSION: This review, truncates the dynamic potential of cancer stem cells and other stem cell types in CRC treatment personalization as well as, in the improvement of current treatment approaches opting to a higher therapeutic rate, improved prognosis, survival and quality of life for CRC patients.