The hierarchical organization and heterogeneity that are present within malignancies have been recently attributed to stem cell-like subset of tumor cells. Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) have gained an exclusive interest as they are identified to push tumor growth and seed metastasis and are responsible for therapy failure and tumor resistance.

The molecular mechanism that drives the CSCs population has started to emerge and the identification and origin of factors that maintain or even induce a CSC phenotype remain an intense area of research. Beside the countless pathways described in literature, many protocols and techniques are drawn up to isolate and study CSCs.

Purpose of this special issue is to highlight the protocols and techniques to follow CSCs, the CSCs activated-pathways, and related compounds that are described to modulate CSCs activated-pathways, which can subsequently be exploited for therapeutic use.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Technologies to identify and study cancer stem cells in vitro and in vivo
  • 2D and 3D cultures
  • Imaging
  • Cytofluorimetric approach
  • Luc reporter system in vitro ed in vivo
• Pathways involved in stemness and targetable in cancer therapy
  • Stearoyl-CoA-desaturase modulation
  • Specific stress activated pathways in cancer stem cells and their modulation
  • Microenvironment-related pathways modulated in cancer stem cells
  • Epigenetics modulation of stemness pathways—a stark role of HDAC inhibitors
• Study cancer stem cell compartment in patients
  • Histopathological markers