9. Different Approaches for Anticancer/Antitumor Therapy

The review on classical antitumor therapy including the anticancer stem cell therapy novelties is presented with disadvantages and advantages. The concept of targeted tumor therapy has evolved during last years into the concept of targeted stem cell therapy. The difference between the two is that in the first case we are targeting the pool of tumor cells as well as normal cells while in the second case we should target just cancer stem cells (CSCs). The new theories on CSCs are comprehended in the light of new conceptual approaches. CSC markers are envisioned as a new category of biomarkers which would be guides toward precise distinction between tumor cells and CSCs. CSCs have the highest tumorigenic potential in the entire pool of tumor cells and due to that should be essential and primary target of the therapy. Thus, targeting of other less cancerogenic and normal cells would be omitted. CSCs due to that reside in tissues either as minimal residual disease or simply as a very low number of cloned cells. When reaching critical size or count, they cause tumor relapse.

The magnetotherapy as one of the novel approaches in targeted CSC therapy is described. It is concluded that further research is necessary in order to reach success in clinical arena by using novel approaches and targeting CSCs.