Zeeba Kamaliyan - Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Atieh Abedin-Do - Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Cancer stem cells are a rare population of tumor cancer cells that have specific biologicaland functional properties which are in some cases similar to normal stem cell’s. Thesecells either originated from mutated stem cells, progenitor cells or normal tissue cells havefound in almost any type of cancer and are regarded as a main cause of cancer’sdifficulties and complexities in therapy; such as initiation, metastasis, recurrence and mostimportantly drug resistance. Many studies proving the responsibility of CSCs (cancer stemcells) in developing cancer, introduced them as â€oeAchill’s heelâ€. This ledresearchers to develop new methods for distinguishing CSCs from other tumor cells andeven normal stem cells and targeting them, as they are new targets of cancer therapy. Newstrategies in CSCs based therapy are classified according to the specific characteristicswhich are targeted: 1) targeting CSCs’ special cell surface markers, 2) targeting theirspecific overexpressed signaling cascades, 3) targeting their ATP-binding cassettes andfinally 4) targeting tumor unique microenvironment. So the better we understand cancer stemcells’ molecular mechanisms and their similarities and differences, the more effectivetherapeutic strategies can be developed to eradicate cancer. Nanoparticles; an excellentcombination of targeting methods with a cytotoxic drug or a chemo-sensitizer drug or even animaging agent for detecting tumor, is the newest and most powerful approach for CSCsbased therapy. Doxorubicin embedded into Gold nanorods to target breast CSCs,photothermolysis of glioblastoma cells by carbon nanotubes attached to monoclonalantibodies and a PH-sensitive cargo conjugated to TAT-peptide and also a chemotherapydrug to elevate the concentration of drug in non-small cell lung carcinoma cells, are just a fewexamples of this hopeful method. Although there is still a long road toward success in cancereradication but this study suggests CSC targeted therapy as a huge step forward.

Cancer Stem Cells, Cancer Complexities, Targeting Techniques, Nanoparticles, Cancer Therapy