Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are defined by their unlimited self-renewal ability and their capacity to initiate and maintain malignancy, traits that are not found in most cells that comprise the tumor. Although current cancer treatments successfully reduce tumor burden, the tumor will likely recur unless CSCs are effectively eradicated. This challenge is made greater by the protective impact of the tumor microenvironment (TME), consisting of infiltrating immune cells, endothelial cells, extracellular matrix, and signaling molecules. The TME acts as a therapeutic barrier through immunosuppressive, and thereby tumor-promoting, actions. These factors, outside of the cancer cell lineage, work in concert to shelter CSCs from both the body's intrinsic anticancer immunity and pharmaceutical interventions to maintain cancer growth. Emerging therapies aimed at the TME offer a promising new tool in breaking through this shield to target the CSCs, yet definitive treatments remain unrealized. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms by which CSCs are protected by the TME and current efforts to overcome these barriers. STEM CELLS 2017;35:1123-1130
SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTCancer stem cells differ from bulk tumor cells due to their ability to create a heterogeneous tumor population, unlimited self-renewal, and proliferation. The tumor microenvironment (TME) provides a shelter for these cells through the presence and actions of stroma, vasculature, extracellular matrix, signaling molecules, and immune cells. The TME has increasingly been recognized as an important component of therapy resistance and tumor progression. Unlike tumor cells, the critical components that comprise the TME and their roles in tumor progression are common between different cancers. A thorough understanding of cancer stem cell-TME interactions is vital to the development of innovative therapeutics.