Luo LL, Jiang SC, Li S, Zhang GY, Tang JJ, Guo YD. Cancer stem cell-associated markers and their prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer. World J Stem Cells 2026; 18(6): 119550 [DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.119550]
Corresponding Author of This Article
You-Dan Guo, MD, The Second Department of Respiratory, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College), No 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. 13970945069@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Cell Biology
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research-article
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Luo LL, Jiang SC, Li S, Zhang GY, Tang JJ, Guo YD. Cancer stem cell-associated markers and their prognostic value in non-small cell lung cancer. World J Stem Cells 2026; 18(6): 119550 [DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.119550]
Lin-Lin Luo, Si-Cong Jiang, You-Dan Guo, The Second Department of Respiratory Disease, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College), Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Shuo Li, Department of Respiratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan 250014, Shandong Province, China
Guang-Yi Zhang, Jian-Jun Tang, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330209, Jiangxi Province, China
Guang-Yi Zhang, Jian-Jun Tang, National Regional Center for Respiratory Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Jiangxi Hospital, Nanchang 330200, Jiangxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Lin-Lin Luo and Si-Cong Jiang.
Author contributions: Luo LL and Jiang SC contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors. Luo LL and Jiang SC conceived and designed the study, collected and analyzed the clinical and pathological data, performed the immunohistochemical experiments, conducted the statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; Li S participated in data acquisition, follow-up organization, and interpretation of survival data; Zhang GY and Tang JJ were involved in pathological evaluation, immunohistochemical assessment, and validation of scoring consistency; Guo YD supervised the entire study, provided critical methodological guidance, revised the manuscript for important intellectual content, and approved the final version for publication.
AI contribution statement: All scientific content, data analysis, explanations and conclusions were completed and verified by the author. All authors are fully responsible for the final paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Approval No. 2026-033 IIT.
Informed consent statement: Given the retrospective nature of this study and the use of anonymized clinical data, the requirement for written informed consent was waived by the ethics committee.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: You-Dan Guo, MD, The Second Department of Respiratory, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College), No 152 Aiguo Road, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. 13970945069@163.com
Received: March 25, 2026 Revised: April 24, 2026 Accepted: May 27, 2026 Published online: June 26, 2026 Processing time: 91 Days and 23.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are key drivers of tumor recurrence, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. This retrospective study systematically evaluated the prognostic significance of the CSC-related markers CD133, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1, and SRY-box transcription factor 2 using immunohistochemistry in surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer tissues. We further developed a composite CSC score integrating multiple stemness markers, which significantly improved the prognostic stratification beyond conventional clinicopathological factors. Its potential clinical value lies in complementary postoperative risk enrichment, closer surveillance planning, and future integration with molecular subtyping, rather than the replacement of existing decision frameworks.
