Cancer stem cell markers and pathways (CSC markers/pathways)

Cancer stem cell (CSC) markers and pathways represent a diverse set of molecular signatures and signaling cascades that define a subpopulation of tumor cells capable of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation [1, 6]. These cells are often resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, serving as the primary drivers of tumor recurrence and metastasis [3, 10]. Key surface markers such as CD44, CD133, and EpCAM, along with intracellular enzymes like ALDH1, are commonly used to identify and isolate these populations across various malignancies [1, 7, 10]. Therapeutic strategies aimed at CSCs typically focus on inhibiting highly conserved developmental pathways—including Wnt/beta-catenin, Notch, and Hedgehog—which are aberrantly activated to maintain stemness [8, 13]. While targeting these pathways holds significant potential for achieving durable clinical responses, challenges such as toxicity to normal tissue-resident stem cells and the inherent plasticity of non-stem cancer cells remain major hurdles in drug development [2, 12].

Other names

Tumor-initiating cell markersCSC signaling pathwaysStemness markersCancer stem cell-associated biomarkers

Inhibition of developmental signaling pathways (Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog) to deplete self-renewing cancer stem cell populations and sensitize tumors to conventional therapy.