Abstract:
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide, contributing to 14% of all new
cancer cases and 6.8% of all cancer deaths in 2014. A new area of cancer research has arisen
from the discovery of cancer cells with stem cell-like proper ties in several tumor types including
the colon, head and breast. Cancer stem cells, which are undifferentiated cells, have the ability
of self-renewal, self-replication and differentiating into malignant daughter cells. Breast tumor s
containing breast cancer stem cells have increased resistance to chemo- and r adiotherapy, a
higher relapse r ate and increased susceptibility to metastasis. Potential targets for the treatment
of chemoresistance include signaling pathways of breast cancer stem cells such as the -catenin-,
Notch and Hedgehog pathways. Chemoresistance of these breast cancer stem cells potentially
elucidates failure to achieve complete remission post-therapy, and, thus, relapses of breast
cancer. By unraveling the mechanism behind the chemotherapeutic resistance of breast cancer
stem cells, researchers could develop more efficient treatment strategies towards breast cancer.
