Copyright
©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2014; 20(14): 3835-3846
Published online Apr 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i14.3835
Published online Apr 14, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i14.3835
Chemopreventive drugs: Mechanisms via inhibition of cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer
Tae Il Kim, Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim TI collected data and references, and designed and wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Tae Il Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, South Korea. taeilkim@yuhs.ac
Telephone: +82-2-22281965 Fax: +82-2-3936884
Received: October 2, 2013
Revised: November 27, 2013
Accepted: January 3, 2014
Published online: April 14, 2014
Processing time: 194 Days and 6.8 Hours
Revised: November 27, 2013
Accepted: January 3, 2014
Published online: April 14, 2014
Processing time: 194 Days and 6.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: To develop optimal chemopreventive agents, we need to target cells and pathways that are essential and critical to carcinogenesis: early tumorigenic changes of stem cells and signals for dedifferentiation may be good targets for chemoprevention. Major chemopreventive drugs, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, statins, proliferator-activated receptor γ agonists and metformin, have cancer stem cell (CSC)-suppressing effects via regulation of stem cell-regulating pathways, stem cell niche in the tumor microenvironment, and altered tumor metabolism. These stem cell-related steps in tumorigenesis could be critical targets for chemoprevention and CSC-targeted adjunctive treatment of colorectal cancer.