Putative Cancer Stem Cell Markers
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Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common cancer and a leading cause of death, worldwide. With respect to the tumor stage, more than 50 percent of patients are diagnosed with stage III disease, while only 25 percent showed stage I and II. Therefore, recurrence and distant metastasis are the main findings in patients with higher stages. Surgical resection is the most common and first treatments in CRC cases besides chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this regard, identification and characterization of prognostic cancer biomarkers can pave the way to early treatment and inhibition of tumor progression by targeted-therapy strategies. Increasing evidence has highlighted the role of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) in tumor initiation, development, recurrence, metastasis, and drug resistance which are identified by their surface markers. The wide range of CSC markers is recognized in different solid and hematopoietic tumors. Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecules (EPCAM) and CD166, Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (LCAM), are two transmembrane glycoproteins which are involved in adhesion interactions between cells, while expressed in malignant cells.