Progress of nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cells related pathways and their targeted therapy

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a common head and neck neoplasm in southern China,is mostly treated with radiotherapy, however, it can not be completely cured by chemoradiotherapy. Recent investigation on NPC suggests that the nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cells can be differentiated to heterogeneous cancer cells that have a strong ability for self renovation and further contribute to the development and progression of tumor itself which is closely related to drug resistance, recurrence and metastasis of NPC. Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, NF-κB and mTOR signaling pathways play important roles in cancer stem cells. Study on nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cells targeted therapies and its related pathways provides a new strategy for the clinical treatment of NPC. Key words: Nasopharyngeal neoplasms; Cancer stem cells; Signaling pathways; Targeted therapy