Open Access

Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance (Review)

  • Authors:
    • Fengsheng Li
    • Kunming Zhou
    • Ling Gao
    • Bin Zhang
    • Wei Li
    • Weijuan Yan
    • Xiujun Song
    • Huijie Yu
    • Sinian Wang
    • Nan Yu
    • Qisheng Jiang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: September 12, 2016     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.5124
  • Pages: 3059-3065
  • Copyright: © Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Radioresistance remains a major obstacle for the radiotherapy treatment of cancer. Previous studies have demonstrated that the radioresistance of cancer is due to the existence of intrinsic cancer stem cells (CSCs), which represent a small, but radioresistant cell subpopulation that exist in heterogeneous tumors. By contrast, non‑stem cancer cells are considered to be radiosensitive and thus, easy to kill. However, recent studies have revealed that under conditions of radiation‑induced stress, theoretically radiosensitive non‑stem cancer cells may undergo dedifferentiation subsequently obtaining the phenotypes and functions of CSCs, including high resistance to radiotherapy, which indicates that radiation may directly result in the generation of novel CSCs from non‑stem cancer cells. These findings suggest that in addition to intrinsic CSCs, non‑stem cancer cells may also contribute to the relapse and metastasis of cancer following transformation into CSCs. This review aims to investigate the radiation‑induced generation of CSCs, its association with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and its significance with regard to the radioresistance of cancer.
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November-2016
Volume 12 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Li F, Zhou K, Gao L, Zhang B, Li W, Yan W, Song X, Yu H, Wang S, Yu N, Yu N, et al: Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance (Review). Oncol Lett 12: 3059-3065, 2016.
APA
Li, F., Zhou, K., Gao, L., Zhang, B., Li, W., Yan, W. ... Jiang, Q. (2016). Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance (Review). Oncology Letters, 12, 3059-3065. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.5124
MLA
Li, F., Zhou, K., Gao, L., Zhang, B., Li, W., Yan, W., Song, X., Yu, H., Wang, S., Yu, N., Jiang, Q."Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance (Review)". Oncology Letters 12.5 (2016): 3059-3065.
Chicago
Li, F., Zhou, K., Gao, L., Zhang, B., Li, W., Yan, W., Song, X., Yu, H., Wang, S., Yu, N., Jiang, Q."Radiation induces the generation of cancer stem cells: A novel mechanism for cancer radioresistance (Review)". Oncology Letters 12, no. 5 (2016): 3059-3065. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2016.5124