Table 1.
Different cancer therapeutic approaches based on CSCs and/or EMT.
| CSC | EMT | Therapeutic target | Therapeutic approach | Cancer type | Development stage | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x | AKT/mTOR signaling pathway | Tunicamycin | Colon cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [87] | |
| x | x | AKT2 | siRNA | Breast cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [79] |
| x | ALOX5 | Zileuton | Leukemia | Clinical (phase 1) |
∗
NCT02047149
∗ NCT01130688 |
|
| x | Bmi-1 | Nigericin | Nasopharyngeal carcinoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [88] | |
| x | Bmi-1 | shRNA | Nasopharyngeal carcinoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [89] | |
| x | EGR-1 | shRNA against EGR-1 | Breast cancer Lung cancer Liver cancer |
Preclinical (in vitro) | [90] | |
| x | EGR-1 | Oxytocin | HNSCC | Preclinical (in vitro) | [91] | |
| x | EGR-1 | Syntactic catalytic DNA | Breast cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [92] | |
| x | EGR-1 | 2′-Benzoyloxycinnamaldehyde | Colon cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [93] | |
| x | EGR-1 | siRNA | Colon cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [93] | |
| x | Hedgehog signaling | Cyclopamine | Glioblastoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [94] | |
| x | HMGA2 | LBH589 | Prostate cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [95] | |
| x | IAP family | AT-406, SM-164, and TRAIL | Nasopharyngeal carcinoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [96] | |
| x | x | JAK 1/2 | Ruxolitinib | Pancreatic cancer Ovarian cancer |
Preclinical (in vivo) | [19, 97] |
| x | Krüppel-like factor 5 | Metformin | TNBC | Preclinical (in vivo) | [98] | |
| x | Lysine-specific demethylase 1 | Pargyline | Prostate cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [99] | |
| x | mTOR | Rapamycin | Neuroblastoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [100] | |
| x | n.d. | Metformin | Gastric cancer Breast cancer Ovarian cancer |
Preclinical (in vivo) | [101–103] | |
| x | n.d. | Salinomycin | HNSCC | Preclinical (in vitro) | [86] | |
| x | n.d. | Salinomycin analogs | Breast cancer Colon cancer |
Preclinical (in vitro) | [104] | |
| x | n.d. | EpCAM/CD3 antibody | Pancreatic cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [105] | |
| n.d. | Anti-CD33 antibody | Glioblastoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [106] | ||
| x | x | n.d. | Quercetin | Pancreatic cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [107] |
| x | n.d. | All-trans retinoic acid | Gastric cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [108] | |
| x | n.d. | Mithramycin | Various neoplasms | Clinical (phase 2) | ∗ NCT02859415 | |
| x | n.d. | Drug combination | Glioblastoma | Clinical (phase 1) | ∗ NCT02654964 | |
| x | n.d. | Epirubicin + cisplatin + capecitabine | Gastric cancer | Clinical (phase 3) | ∗ NCT01697072 | |
| x | NADH dehydrogenase | DECA-14 | Neuroblastoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [100] | |
| x | x | Nestin | shRNA | Glioblastoma Lung carcinoma Pancreatic cancer |
Preclinical (in vivo) | [80–82, 109] |
| x | x | Nestin | siRNA | Pancreatic cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [84, 110] |
| x | x | p53 mutant cells | Metformin | Ovarian cancer FTPPC, pancreatic cancer | Clinical (phase 2) |
∗
NCT01579812
∗ NCT02978547 |
| x | x | PI3K-AKT; ERK1/2 pathways | LY294002; U0126 | Breast cancer | Preclinical (in vitro) | [111] |
| x | SNAIL | Trichostatin A | Lung cancer | Preclinical (in vitro) | [112, 113] | |
| x | Snail-p53 interaction | GN-25; GN-29 | Pancreatic cancer Lung cancer |
Preclinical (in vivo) | [114] | |
| x | STAT3 | LLL12; shRNA | Breast cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [115] | |
| x | STAT3 | BBI608 | Various cancers | Preclinical (in vivo) | [116] | |
| x | x | STAT3 | Salinomycin | Breast cancer | Preclinical (in vitro) | [85] |
| x | x | STAT3 pathway | Oncostatin M | Hepatocellular carcinoma | Preclinical (in vivo) | [117] |
| x | WNT pathway | Nigericin | Lung cancer | Preclinical (in vitro) | [118] | |
| x | x | ZEB1 | shRNA | Pancreatic cancer | Preclinical (in vivo) | [19] |
n.d.: not described. ∗ClinicalTrials.gov identifier. Abbreviations: HNSCC: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; FTPPC: fallopian tube, primary peritoneal cancer.