| Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small population of malignant cells that induce tumor onset and development.
CSCs share similar features with normal stem cells in the case of self-renewal and differentiation. They also
contribute to chemoresistance and metastasis of cancer cells, leading to therapeutic failure. To identify CSCs,
multiple cell surface markers have been characterized, including Nanog, which is found at high levels in different
cancers. Recent studies have revealed that Nanog upregulation has a substantial association with the advanced
stages and poor prognosis of malignancies, playing a pivotal role through tumorigenesis of multiple human
cancers, including leukemia, liver, colorectal, prostate, ovarian, lung, head and neck, brain, pancreatic, gastric
and breast cancers. Nanog through different signaling pathways, like JAK/STAT and Wnt/β-catenin pathways,
induces stemness, self-renewal, metastasis, invasiveness, and chemoresistance of cancer cells. Some of these
signaling pathways are common in various types of cancers, but some have been found in one or two cancers.
Therefore, this review aimed to focus on the function of Nanog in multiple cancers based on recent studies
surveying the suitable approaches to target Nanog and inhibit CSCs residing in tumors to gain favorable results
from cancer treatments. |