Thyroid Tumor-initiating Cells: Increasing Evidence and Opportunities for Anticancer Therapy (review)

Overview

Journal Oncol Rep

Specialty Oncology

Date 2014 Jan 16

PMID 24424445

Citations 18

Authors

Yong-Ju Gao

Bo Li

Xin-Yu Wu

Jing Cui

Jian-Kui Han

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Accumulating evidence supports the notion that thyroid cancer is initiated by tumor-initiating cells (TICs) (commonly known as cancer stem cells), which are thought to play a crucial role in malignant progression, therapeutic resistance and recurrence. Thyroid TICs have been isolated and identified using specific biomarkers (such as CD133), the side population, sphere formation and aldehyde dehydrogenase activity assays. Although their characteristics remain largely unknown, TICs provide an attractive cellular mechanism to explain therapeutic refractoriness. Efforts are currently being directed toward the identification of therapeutic strategies that could target these cells. The present review discusses the cellular origins of TICs and the main approaches used to isolate and identify thyroid TICs, with a focus on the remaining challenges and opportunities for anticancer therapy.

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