Dormancy, stemness, and therapy resistance: interconnected players in cancer evolution

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cancer Biology
• Tumor Microenvironment Dynamics

Background:

• Cancer's biological complexity challenges current treatments, often leading to therapy resistance.
• Anticancer treatments perturb tumors, inducing stress responses and promoting resistance in surviving cancer cells.
• Cancer cell dormancy (quiescence) is crucial for tumor survival, metastasis, and immune evasion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent discoveries in cancer cell dormancy, stemness, and therapy resistance.
• To explore the role of quiescent cancer cells (QCCs) in tumor evolution and treatment failure.
• To discuss the potential of tumor quiescence as a therapeutic target or resource.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent experimental evidence on cancer dormancy, stemness, and therapy resistance.
• Analysis of QCCs transcriptional programs, metabolic plasticity, and immune escape mechanisms.
• Application of a nonlinear dynamics approach to understand tumor quiescence.

Main Results:

• QCCs are detected across all tumor development stages and are linked to treatment failure.
• Recent studies reveal QCCs' core transcriptional programs, metabolic adaptability, and immune evasion strategies.
• Identifying stable QCCs biomarkers and therapeutic targets remains a significant challenge.

Conclusions:

• Tumor quiescence is a complex phenomenon intertwined with cancer stemness and therapy resistance.
• A deeper understanding of QCCs dynamics is essential for developing effective cancer therapies.
• Tumor quiescence may offer novel therapeutic opportunities beyond its role as a resistance mechanism.