Chemotherapy: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Gastric Cancer Stem Cells and Resistance to Cancer Therapy

Masakazu Yashiro

Gastric cancer remains a major global health threat, and most patients with advanced stage disease require chemotherapy. Resistance to therapy is a major obstacle in the management of gastric cancer, which may be due to cancer stem cells that are defined as ?cancer cells within a tumor that possess the capacity for self-renewal and that can cause the heterogeneous lineage of cancer cells that constitute the tumor.? Gastric cancer stem cells exhibit characteristic biomarkers, signaling pathways, and crosstalk networks with tumor microenvironment. Targeting of these characteristics, which play important roles in cancer stem cells resistance, may provide new therapeutic modalities for gastric cancer.