Gastrointestinal cancers are the most occurring
malignancies and quiet the most prevalence cause of cancer‐related mortality worldwide. Cancer stem cells (CSCs)
are thought to be liable for tumour initiation, drug and radiation resistance,
invasive growth, metastasis, and tumour relapse which are the main causes of
cancer‐related
deaths. Gastrointestinal CSCs
are also thought to be contrary to conventional therapies an effective and
novel cancer treatment is imperative.
CSCs were found in other gastrointestinal cancers,
such as oesophagus, stomach, liver, and pancreas. Specific
phenotypes could be used to differentiate CSCs from non‐CSCs.
Gastrointestinal cancers cover a variety of diseases;
many of them have poor prognoses worldwide. Only Colorectal cancer (CRC) is
listed in the top 10 for incidence rate of tumour. Three gastrointestinal cancers
including pancreatic, hepatic and biliary tract, and oesophageal cancers are in
the top 10 for death rates from tumours.
Combining several therapeutic approaches like surgery,
endoscopic therapy, chemotherapy, and radiation may improve survival in
patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this
mediational care builds upon the cancer's status specifically, on metastasis,
resistance to radiation/chemotherapy, and recurrence which are all thought to
be caused by CSCs. Therefore, new therapeutic options for these diseases must
be developed.
Many chemotherapeutic and biological agents have been
developed against gastrointestinal cancers but, they target the cells found in
the bulk tumour and cannot efficiently remove CSCs, which leads to treatment
failure, chemo resistance, and recurrence. Consequently, gastrointestinal
cancer therapies targeting CSCs have been investigated.
Anticancer therapies are usually evaluated on their
ability to shrink tumours. If these therapies do not eliminate CSCs, a relapse
could occur, and CSCs could enable tumours to develop further resistance. The
best way to eliminate gastrointestinal CSCs is to identify the specific markers
for gastrointestinal CSCs, but not for normal cells. Targeted therapy in
opposition to these specific molecules could offer new start to eradicate the
malignant phenotypes of cancer without influencing normal stem cells.
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