Jagtap SV, Jagtap SS. Prognostic significance of stem cell markers: In triple-negative breast cancers. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(7): 119673 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i7.119673]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Sunil V Jagtap, Professor, Department of Pathology, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Malkapur, Karad 415110, Maharashtra, India. drsvjagtap@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
editorial
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World J Clin Oncol. Jul 24, 2026; 17(7): 119673 Published online Jul 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i7.119673
Prognostic significance of stem cell markers: In triple-negative breast cancers
Sunil V Jagtap, Shubham S Jagtap
Sunil V Jagtap, Department of Pathology, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad 415110, Maharashtra, India
Shubham S Jagtap, Department of Medicine, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad 415110, Maharashtra, India
Co-first authors: Sunil V Jagtap and Shubham S Jagtap.
Author contributions: Jagtap SV contributed to the work equally and co-first authors of this manuscript; Jagtap SV and Jagtap SS conceived the review and drafted the initial manuscript, made substantial contributions to this manuscript, were responsible for literature collation, edited and finalized the manuscript for submission, thus qualified as the co-first authors of the paper; and all authors reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Sunil V Jagtap, Professor, Department of Pathology, Krishna Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Malkapur, Karad 415110, Maharashtra, India. drsvjagtap@gmail.com
Received: February 14, 2026 Revised: March 4, 2026 Accepted: April 27, 2026 Published online: July 24, 2026 Processing time: 171 Days and 19.2 Hours
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined by the lack of expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2. Investigating the role of cancer stem cell (CSC) markers in TNBC carcinogenesis and tumor progression is of increasing interest. TNBC cells have been reported to exhibit CSC characteristics at functional, molecular, and transcriptional levels. Several stemness markers have been described across different histological subtypes of breast cancer, including CD44, CD24, CD133, EpCAM, CD166, Lgr5, CD47, ALDH1, and ABCG2. Recent studies have demonstrated that CD133 positivity enables the identification of CSC populations in breast cancer. These markers may have enhanced prognostic value if TNBC tumors are further stratified into molecular subtypes, particularly through evaluation of their expression in the mesenchymal stem-like subtype. In this article, we comment on the article by Depar et al published in the World Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Core Tip: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer characterized by absence of estrogen, progesteron and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 expressions. TNBC exhibit cancer stem cell (CSC)-like properties at functional, molecular, and transcriptional levels. Stemness markers described across different histological subtypes include CD44, CD24, CD133, ALDH1 and ABCG2. These markers have prognostic and predictive value in TNBC, as their expression has been associated with increased tumor aggressiveness, chemoresistance, poor prognosis, lack of effective targeted therapies and unfavorable clinical outcomes. Recent studies on CSC markers in TNBC highlight their potential as new prognostic biomarkers and targeted therapies.
