Targeting epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells for chemoresistant ovarian cancer

• Published in: Oncotarget Vol. 7; no. 34; pp. 55771 - 55788
• Main Authors: Deng, Junli, Wang, Li, Chen, Hongmin, Hao, Jingli, Ni, Jie, Chang, Lei, Duan, Wei, Graham, Peter, Li, Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Impact Journals LLC 23.08.2016
• Subjects: AC133 Antigen - analysis; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase - analysis; CD24 Antigen; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule - analysis; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition - drug effects; Female; Humans; Hyaluronan Receptors - analysis; Neoplastic Stem Cells - chemistry; Neoplastic Stem Cells - drug effects; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - mortality; Ovarian Neoplasms - pathology; Review; CSC; chemoresistance; ovarian cancer; EMT; therapy
• ISSN: 1949-2553; 1949-2553
• DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.9908

Chemoresistance is the main challenge for the recurrent ovarian cancer therapy and responsible for treatment failure and unfavorable clinical outcome. Understanding mechanisms of chemoresistance in ovarian cancer would help to predict disease progression, develop new therapies and personalize systemic therapy. In the last decade, accumulating evidence demonstrates that epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells play important roles in ovarian cancer chemoresistance and metastasis. Treatment of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells holds promise for improving current ovarian cancer therapies and prolonging the survival of recurrent ovarian cancer patients in the future. In this review, we focus on the role of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells in ovarian cancer chemoresistance and explore the therapeutic implications for developing epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells associated therapies for future ovarian cancer treatment.