Stem cell-based targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer: Current approaches and future prospects

Despite recent improvements in oncology, diagnosis, and therapy, pancreatic cancer remains extremely difficult to cure due to its aggressive growth pattern with early invasion and distant metastases, chemoresistance, and a lack of effective screening modalities for early detection. Here, novel therapeutic approaches for treating pancreatic cancer are urgently needed. Recently, stem cells have drawn a lot of interest as a possible treatment for pancreatic cancer due to their ability to locate tumors. Though research over the last few decades has revealed some very exciting and promising new treatment approaches, the clinical success of these stem-cell based anti-cancer medicines has been quite limited. The most effective stem cell-mediated therapeutic options will only be available with a deeper understanding of the intricate molecular biology underlying pancreatic cancer and the subsequent identification of cancer stem cells as a novel target that promotes the growth of the cancer and resistance to chemotherapy. This review will highlight the stem cell based anti-cancer therapy targeting pancreatic cancer stem cells and different molecular signaling pathways. A particular focus will be on the therapeutic potential of naïve Stem cells, anti-cancer drug loaded stem cells, genetically engineered stem cells and exosomal miRNA released by stem cells in pancreatic cancer treatment. Similarly, the role of nanotechnology in stem cell based anticancer therapy will be further discussed to better implementation of these cell-based cancer therapy.