Identifying and targeting cancer stem cells in leiomyosarcoma: prognostic impact and role to overcome secondary resistance to PI3K/mTOR inhibition.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is one of the most frequent soft tissue sarcoma subtypes and is characterized by a consistent deregulation of the PI3K/mTOR pathway. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been poorly studied in soft tissue sarcomas. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between CSCs, the outcome of LMS patients, and the resistance to PI3K/mTOR pathway inhibition.

Methods

We investigated the relationships between aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) expression, a cancer stem cell marker, and the outcome of LMS patients in two independent cohorts. We assessed the impact of CSCs in resistance to PI3K/mTOR pathway inhibition using LMS cell lines, a xenograft mouse model, and human tumor samples.

Results

We found that enhanced ALDH1 activity is a hallmark

SUBMITTER: Fourneaux B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6347793 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature