Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42649883›Full record

ReviewCancers2026

Cancer Stem Cells in Colorectal Cancer: From Molecular Mechanisms to Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy Implications.

Dami Aiyejuto, Ananya Luthria, Thompson Hui, Anitha Kota Shenoy

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Dami AiyejutoNaresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, TX 77807, USA.ORCID 0009-0004-4187-5070
Ananya LuthriaNaresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, TX 77807, USA.
Thompson HuiNaresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, TX 77807, USA.
Anitha Kota ShenoyDepartment of Medical Education, Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan, TX 77807, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4611-9333

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major cause of cancer-related mortality, with recurrence and treatment resistance as persistent challenges. Increasing evidence supports the cancer stem cell (CSC) model in CRC, in which a subpopulation of self-renewing colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs) sustains tumor growth, metastasis, and therapy resistance. CCSCs are increasingly recognized as key drivers of tumor progression, therapeutic resistance, and relapse, and are increasingly being investigated not only as therapeutic targets but also as biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic relevance in CRC. Multiple signaling pathways regulate CCSC maintenance and aggressive behavior, including Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK, NF-κB, and TGF-β signaling. These pathways form the basis of therapeutic strategies aimed at modulating stemness-associated pathways, with several CSC-focused agents and pathway inhibitors currently under translational and clinical investigation. In parallel, CCSC surface markers and molecular signatures are being explored as putative tools for early detection, minimal residual disease monitoring, and outcome prediction. However, successful translation of CSC-directed approaches into effective and safe clinical applications remains difficult. Tumor heterogeneity, CSC plasticity, compensatory signaling mechanisms, and the shared regulatory networks between malignant and normal intestinal stem cells pose substantial barriers. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms underlying CCSC biology, discuss their diagnostic and prognostic implications. We also focus on clinical trials that apply CCSC-directed therapeutic, biomarker, and prevention strategies in CRC., Finally, we emphasize the lessons learned and the translational challenges, including the need for rigorously validated, CCSC-specific biomarkers, that continue to shape the development of these therapeutic and biomarker strategies.

Indexed as

cancer stem cells (CSC)clinical trialscolorectal cancer (CRC)colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSC)diagnostic biomarkersdrug resistancemetastasisprognostic biomarkerssignaling pathwaystherapeutic resistancetherapeutic targetingtumor microenvironment (TME)

Identifiers

PMID42649883
PMCPMC13511273

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.