©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Aug 15, 2025; 17(8): 108535
Published online Aug 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i8.108535
Published online Aug 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i8.108535
Interleukin-22 promotes cancer stemness and chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer via epidermal growth factor receptor/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway
Hong-Xun Ruan, Yan-Le Fang, Xiao-Ning Qin, Lin Lin, The Third Department of General Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050004, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Lin L designed and coordinated the study; Ruan HX acquired and analyzed data; Fang YL performed the experiments; Qin XN and Lin L wrote the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The article does not involve humans or animals, so it does not require approval from an institutional review board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed in the experiment are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request at linlin779242000@163.com.
Corresponding author: Lin Lin, MD, The Third Department of General Surgery, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, No. 215 Heping West Road, Shijiazhuang 050004, Hebei Province, China. linlin779242000@163.com
Received: April 17, 2025
Revised: May 26, 2025
Accepted: July 11, 2025
Published online: August 15, 2025
Processing time: 119 Days and 21.5 Hours
Revised: May 26, 2025
Accepted: July 11, 2025
Published online: August 15, 2025
Processing time: 119 Days and 21.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study reveals that interleukin-22 (IL-22) enhances stem cell-like traits and promotes resistance to oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Mechanistically, IL-22 activates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway. Inhibition of EGFR with osimertinib reverses IL-22-induced chemoresistance. These findings highlight IL-22 as a critical mediator of therapeutic resistance and a potential target for overcoming drug resistance in CRC treatment.