Increased TRAIL-resistance of pancreatic cancer stem cells

Introduction: Due to chemoresistance and early metastasis formation pancreatic cancer still demonstrates disastrous survival rates. According to the cancer stem cell model only a small proportion of cancer cells, termed cancer stem cells, possesses the capacity of unlimited self-renewal which, supplemented by chemoresistance, cause tumor relapse and metastasis formation. CD44 has been published as a tumor stem cell marker for pancreatic cancer. Triggering the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis induction, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in many tumor cells but not in most normal tissue…