Targeting stem cells in radiation oncology

At the annual conference of the Association for Radiation Research held in Oxford 26-28 June 2017, one session focused on the potential of targeting stem cells in radiation oncology. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are highly tumorigenic cells capable to self-renew and to give rise to all other tumour cells. Emerging clinical evidence links CSCs to the risk of tumour relapse and suggests that therapeutic targeting of CSC populations in combination with radiotherapy might be a promising approach to improve local tumour control. This editorial outlines the concept of cancer stem cells in radiation biology and the main avenues for tumour radiosensitisation by anti-CSC therapies.