New insights into pancreatic cancer stem cells

Pancreatic cancer （PC） has been one of the deadliest of allcancers, with almost uniform lethality despite aggressivetreatment. Recently, there have been important advancesin the molecular, pathological and biological understandingof pancreatic cancer. Even after the emergence of recentnew targeted agents and the use of multiple therapeuticcombinations, no treatment option is viable in patients withadvanced cancer. Developing novel strategies to targetprogression of PC is of intense interest. A small populationof pancreatic cancer stem cells （CSCs） has been foundto be resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy.CSCs are believed to be responsible for tumor initiation,progression and metastasis. The CSC research has recentlyachieved much progress in a variety of solid tumors,including pancreatic cancer to some extent. This leads tofocus on understanding the role of pancreatic CSCs. Thefocus on CSCs may offer new targets for prevention andtreatment of this deadly cancer. We review the most salientdevelopments in important areas of pancreatic CSCs. Here,we provide a review of current updates and new insightson the role of CSCs in pancreatic tumor progression withspecial emphasis on DclK1 and Lgr5, signaling pathwaysaltered by CSCs, and the role of CSCs in prevention andtreatment of PC.