Cancer Stem Cells Publisher



Khatami F¹ ; Aghaii M¹ ; Tehrani FD²
Source: Stem Cells in Urology Published:2020

Abstract

Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are a minor group of cells in tumors that have self-renewal, differentiation, and tumorigenicity properties. Some known markers such as CD44, CD24, and CD133 on the cell membrane are often used to identify and enrich CSCs in several tumors, including prostate tumors, testis tumors, kidney cancers, and bladder tumors. Actually, CSCs can pass through vessels and shed into the blood and circulate freely to form circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTCs are suggested as the real-time representers of the tumor. They are the main component of liquid biopsy together with cell free DNA (cfDNA) and exosomes, which are important diagnostic and prognostic markers in uro-oncology. Currently, numerous studies are about the isolation of CSCs from cancers of genito-urinary tracts, especially in prostate, urothelial and kidney cancer origin. Tumor’s progress reveals new ways of finding more effective treatment strategies. In this book chapter, we summarize the current understanding of CSCs and explain the current achievements in cancer stem cell research in urological malignancies. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.