恶性脑肿瘤是高度异质性的肿瘤，在儿童和成人中预后差，患病率和死亡率高。肿瘤干细胞（也被称为肿瘤起始细胞）模型认为，肿瘤生长由一部分肿瘤干细胞驱动。该模型解释了脑肿瘤的一些临床观察结果，包括在初始成功的化疗和/或放疗后几乎不可避免地出现肿瘤复发和抗治疗性。在过去的二十年里，脑肿瘤干细胞的鉴定和特性研究方法有了显著的改进，支持了设计新的诊断和治疗策略。相关研究揭示了脑肿瘤干细胞的新特征，包括其异质性和独特的免疫生物学，为新的研究方向和潜在治疗方法提供了机会。在本综述中，我们总结了脑肿瘤干细胞的标记物和干细胞调控因子的当前研究进展。我们还全面描述了脑肿瘤干细胞群和肿瘤微环境对脑肿瘤干细胞性的影响，包括干细胞和免疫系统之间的互动，并讨论了脑肿瘤治疗中使用脑干细胞的潜在应用。© 2023 The Authors. MedComm 由四川国际医学交流促进协会（SCIMEA）和John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.出版。

Malignant brain tumors are highly heterogeneous tumors with a poor prognosis and a high morbidity and mortality rate in both children and adults. The cancer stem cell (CSC, also named tumor-initiating cell) model states that tumor growth is driven by a subset of CSCs. This model explains some of the clinical observations of brain tumors, including the almost unavoidable tumor recurrence after initial successful chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and treatment resistance. Over the past two decades, strategies for the identification and characterization of brain CSCs have improved significantly, supporting the design of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for brain tumors. Relevant studies have unveiled novel characteristics of CSCs in the brain, including their heterogeneity and distinctive immunobiology, which have provided opportunities for new research directions and potential therapeutic approaches. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of CSCs markers and stemness regulators in brain tumors. We also comprehensively describe the influence of the CSCs niche and tumor microenvironment on brain tumor stemness, including interactions between CSCs and the immune system, and discuss the potential application of CSCs in brain-based therapies for the treatment of brain tumors.© 2023 The Authors. MedComm published by Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association (SCIMEA) and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.