Cancer stem cells in pancreaticobiliary tumors

Objectives:

Cancer stem cells have been studied intensively and preclinical studies established their role in tumor formation and catalyzers of malignancy. However, confirmatory studies in patients are scarce. Therefore we aimed to evaluate the role of tumor stem cells in both pancreatic and biliary cancer patients.

Methods:

We analyzed primary tumor samples of 34 patients. The tissue was first dissociated and then analyzed via fluorescence-activated cell scanning (FACS) after staining with Hoechst 33342 as well as surface markers for various cell subsets and stem cells. Primary cultures of cancer associated fibroblasts were also analyzed regards the presence of cancer stem cells.

Results:

We could verify the presence of cancer stem cells in primary tumor tissue and in patient derived cell cultures of cancer associated fibroblasts both with Hoechst 33342 and surface staining. A high proportion of cancer stem cells was hereby correlated with a higher UICC status and more nodal invasion.

Conclusion:

Our study proves the presence of cancer stem cells in pancreaticobiliary tumors and supports their clinical relevance and potential role as therapeutic targets.