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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Discovery of Driver Genes in Colorectal HT29-derived Cancer Stem-Like Tumorspheres
Published on: July 22, 2020
Multifaceted Interpretation of Colon Cancer Stem Cells
Yuichiro Hatano1, Shinya Fukuda2, Kenji Hisamatsu3
1Department of Tumor Pathology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu 501-1194, Japan. yuha@gifu-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, despite recent advances in clinical oncology. Accumulating evidence sheds light on the existence of cancer stem cells and their role in conferring therapeutic resistance. Cancer stem cells are a minor fraction of cancer cells, which enable tumor heterogeneity and initiate tumor formation. In addition, these cells are resistant to various cytotoxic factors. Therefore, elimination of cancer stem cells is difficult but essential to cure the malignant foci completely. Herein, we review the recent evidence for intestinal stem cells and colon cancer stem cells, methods to detect the tumor-initiating cells, and clinical significance of cancer stem cell markers. We also describe the emerging problems of cancer stem cell theory, including bidirectional conversion and intertumoral heterogeneity of stem cell phenotype.
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