Prostate cancer stem cells: A brief review

Human cancers have been shown to harbor stem cell-like cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells are thought to be endowed with indefinite self-renewal ability and believed to be involved in tumor initiation, promotion, progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Prostate cancers (PCa) have also been shown to contain CSCs. Here we briefly review the literature reports of CSCs in various tumor systems. We then summarize studies of prostate CSCs (PCSCs) in human cancers and mouse models and discuss their respective limitations. We further discuss the current controversies with respect to identifying the cell of origin for PCa. Elucidating the unique characteristics of PCSCs will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the emergence of castration-resistant disease and may provide new opportunities for developing therapeutics that target the recurrent PCa.