积累的数据揭示了肿瘤具有一种名为癌干细胞（Cancer Stem Cells，CSCs）的特殊亚群癌细胞，其负责恶性肿瘤的转移和复发，并具有自我更新、异质性和耐药性等多种特性。一些信号通路或过程，如Notch、上皮间质转化（Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition，EMT）、Hedgehog（Hh）和Wnt，以及CSCs的表面标记，如CD44、CD123、CD133和上皮细胞黏附分子（Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule，EpCAM），在获取CSCs特性方面起到了关键作用。因此，靶向CSC相关的信号通路和表面标记可能有效清除肿瘤，为癌症存活铺平道路。由于目前的治疗方法，如化疗和放疗，不能清除所有CSCs，而且暂时康复后可能发生肿瘤复发，因此需要改进新的更有效的治疗选择以与当前治疗方法结合使用。免疫疗法策略是一种有希望的新治疗模式，可以针对CSCs进行治疗。在这里，我们回顾了以抗原递呈细胞（Dendritic Cell，DC）疫苗、嵌合抗原受体（Chimeric Antigen Receptors，CAR）工程免疫细胞、自然杀伤细胞（Natural Killer Cell，NK Cell）疗法、单克隆抗体（Monoclonal Antibodies，mAbs）、检查点抑制剂以及肿瘤溶解病毒（Oncolytic Viruses，OVs）在临床前和临床研究中对CSCs的靶向治疗进行的综述。本综述主要关注血液恶性肿瘤，但也描述了实体肿瘤。© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accumulating data reveals that tumors possess a specialized subset of cancer cells named cancer stem cells (CSCs), responsible for metastasis and recurrence of malignancies, with various properties such as self-renewal, heterogenicity, and capacity for drug resistance. Some signaling pathways or processes like Notch, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), Hedgehog (Hh), and Wnt, as well as CSCs' surface markers such as CD44, CD123, CD133, and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) have pivotal roles in acquiring CSCs properties. Therefore, targeting CSC-related signaling pathways and surface markers might effectively eradicate tumors and pave the way for cancer survival. Since current treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy cannot eradicate all of the CSCs and tumor relapse may happen following temporary recovery, improving novel and more efficient therapeutic options to combine with current treatments is required. Immunotherapy strategies are the new therapeutic modalities with promising results in targeting CSCs. Here, we review the targeting of CSCs by immunotherapy strategies such as dendritic cell (DC) vaccines, chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-engineered immune cells, natural killer-cell (NK-cell) therapy, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), checkpoint inhibitors, and the use of oncolytic viruses (OVs) in pre-clinical and clinical studies. This review will mainly focus on blood malignancies but also describe solid cancers.© 2023 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.