Advanced research on prostate cancer stem cell-related tumor markers / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in males. Endocrine therapy is currently the main treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer. Although this therapy frequently results in tumor shrinkage, it is not curative, and the majority of patients eventually develop hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Recent studies suggested that prostate cancer stem cells serve a key function in the occurrence, development, and metastasis of prostate cancer. Therefore, targeted therapy of prostate cancer stem cells may be effective for the treatment of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer stem cell markers must be identified to facilitate studies on prostate cancer radical treatment schemes, especially the specific markers of this disease. Previous research on prostate cancer stem cell markers mainly focus on CD44 and CD133. Along with in-depth studies, a substantial number of new markers have been found with research development. This review summarizes the widely studied and recently discovered markers found in the field of prostate cancer stem cells.