Quiescent Cancer Cells-A Potential Therapeutic Target to Overcome Tumor Resistance and Relapse

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 4; p. 3762
• Main Authors: Lindell, Emma, Zhong, Lei, Zhang, Xiaonan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Bone marrow; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer cells; Cancer therapies; Cell Cycle; Cell Division; Chemotherapy; Colorectal cancer; Development and progression; Diseases; Drug resistance; Gene expression; Health aspects; Humans; Hypoxia; Immunotherapy; Kinases; Lung cancer; Metastasis; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - drug therapy; novel therapeutic strategies; Phosphorylation; Proteins; quiescent; Reagents; Recurrence; Relapse; Resting Phase, Cell Cycle - drug effects; Review; Solid tumors; Stem cells; Therapeutic targets; tumor recurrence; Tumors; tumor recurrence; quiescent; drug resistance; novel therapeutic strategies
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043762

Quiescent cancer cells (QCCs) are nonproliferating cells arrested in the G0 phase, characterized by ki67 and p27 . QCCs avoid most chemotherapies, and some treatments could further lead to a higher proportion of QCCs in tumors. QCCs are also associated with cancer recurrence since they can re-enter a proliferative state when conditions are favorable. As QCCs lead to drug resistance and tumor recurrence, there is a great need to understand the characteristics of QCCs, decipher the mechanisms that regulate the proliferative-quiescent transition in cancer cells, and develop new strategies to eliminate QCCs residing in solid tumors. In this review, we discussed the mechanisms of QCC-induced drug resistance and tumor recurrence. We also discussed therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance and relapse by targeting QCCs, including (i) identifying reactive quiescent cancer cells and removing them via cell-cycle-dependent anticancer reagents; (ii) modulating the quiescence-to-proliferation switch; and (iii) eliminating QCCs by targeting their unique features. It is believed that the simultaneous co-targeting of proliferating and quiescent cancer cells may ultimately lead to the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of solid tumors.